Pacific Symphony musicians are well versed in classical music, and many of them play on motion picture soundtracks, which may be why they seem to love the pops and summer concerts that frequently dive into music from the movies.
Sometimes the Pacific Symphony goes a step further and hosts evenings featuring a noted film shown on a large screen while the orchestra performs the music live. Such is the case with the August 2 summer concert at the Great Park Live amphitheater: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” featuring the memorable score by composer John Williams performed live while the movie (sans soundtrack) is shown on a large screen.
What’s so special about “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”?
It’s the seventh film in the Star Wars saga that began in 1977 and ended in 2019 after nine films. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” came out in 2015 and saw the return of many of the original film’s actors and characters.
The impact that the original Star Wars movie made on the film industry and culture in general is significant for many reasons: mythic storytelling, captivating characters, groundbreaking special effects and iconic musical scores composed by Williams.
“Pacific Symphony strives to bring joy and connection to our audience not only through music that they know and love, but through unique and shared experiences,” said John Forsyte, president and CEO of Pacific Symphony. “The Star Wars films offer an imaginative escape with the music telling the story just as much as the characters on screen. Our summer concert is a way for the whole family to experience the film like never before and to truly appreciate the talent and hard work of the musicians, who they can also see up on the big screen!”
The concert is led by conductor Anthony Parnther, who also has a history of movie music.
As one of today’s foremost film conductors, Parnther helms recording sessions for many of the world’s top international feature films and television series, working in close collaboration with some of the most decorated media composers in the industry. He has led the scoring sessions for projects like the Oscar-winning score for “Oppenheimer,” Grammy-winning “Encanto,” Emmy-winning “The Mandalorian,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” and many others.
Pacific Symphony’s SummerFest is presented by City of Hope Orange County.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Concert” takes place on August 2 at 8 p.m. with tickets ranging from $44 to $160. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (714) 755-5799, or visit www.PacificSymphony.org.
The presentation is licensed by Disney Concerts, the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras, choruses and presenters on a worldwide basis. Disney Concerts’ concert packages include a variety of formats, such as “live-to-picture” film concerts.
