Symphony orchestra to perform film scores and solos

Home Culture Symphony orchestra to perform film scores and solos

From the stars, to the sea, to the Shire, the symphony orchestra will bring the screen to the stage in their concert this weekend. 

“A Tribute to the Film Composer – Music from the Big Screen” will take place in Markel Auditorium on Saturday, March 5 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 6 at 2 p.m. The repertoire includes suites from Star Wars Episode II, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and more, as well as a few classical pieces scored in films. The concert will also feature selected winners from the 2022 Annual Student Concerto/Aria Competition.

“I came up with the idea last fall to do a concert of film scores, I proposed it to the orchestra, and they got so excited,” Professor of Music and Orchestra Director James Holleman said. “I got more emails from the students in the orchestra suggesting repertoire than I’ve ever gotten for a concert before.”

Holleman said the challenge with film music is to find available professional arrangements that would be recognizable to the audience, and to perform them well.

“It’s tricky when you play music that everybody’s familiar with,” Holleman said. “They expect a certain sound and certain tempos. But we’re doing it. The orchestra has really stepped up to this one.”

Junior Paul Trainor, the principal cellist and one of the concerto competition winners, said practicing the repertoire is thrilling.

“I have a very deep emotional attachment to the Lord of the Rings as films and as a score, so it’s a very fulfilling experience playing it,” Trainor said. “But at the same time, Pirates is just a blast.”

Trainor will also perform the first movement of Antonin Dvorak’s Cello Concerto in B Minor, op. 104 in the first half of the concert. Trainor said he’s wanted to play the piece for a long time, but was only recently at the skill level to do so.

“Playing this piece is like playing whack-a-mole,” Trainor said. “It’s extremely difficult to get everything that’s in it.”

Soloists junior Marie-Therese Romanos and senior April Smith will each perform two arias. Romanos will perform “Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro from The Marriage of Figaro” by W. A. Mozart and “Casta Diva che inargenti from Norma” by Vincenzo Bellini.

Smith, a mezzo soprano, is performing “Must the Winter Come so Soon?” from “Vanessa” by Samuel Barber and “Una voce poco fa” from “The Barber of Seville” by Gioacchino Rossini. She said she picked the two because they’re different and she liked the stark contrast.

“One is slower, full of regret and sadness. The other is quite flashy, a bit flirtatious, and victorious,” Smith said. “I chose it because it was quite a challenge to my musicianship at the time I started working on it.”

Smith said she is excited to share the works “in their fullest context.”

“I’ve never performed with an orchestra, so this is a whole new experience for me. But I’m really enjoying our rehearsals,” Smith said. “It’s great to finally hear the pieces backed by the accompaniment they were intended to have.”

Holleman strongly encouraged college students to attend this concert.

“Everybody in the audience will recognize something,” he said.

To reserve a ticket, email boxoffice@hillsdale.edu or call (517) 607-2848.