On Jan. 24, the Weber State University department of performing arts will hold their winter symphony orchestra concert in the Val A. Browning Center for Performing Arts. This year, the concert has a twist; instead of the usual, classical concert pieces, the symphony will play movie scores, ranging from the “ET” theme, to the James Bond medley.
Many students feel excited and challenged by the movie score theme of this concert. “This has been fun because it takes different techniques and different methods,” Lindsey Cramer, a flute performance major said. “It’s a more modern sound than on the soundtracks.”
Nick Johnston, a music education major, said he’s excited to be performing in the concert. Johnston said he thinks audience members “will really enjoy the ‘Mission Impossible’ theme because everyone knows it.”
Cramer agreed with Johnston.
“The ‘Mission Impossible’ and ‘007’ themes will go over well because they are recognizable and fast paced,” Cramer said.
The WSU band and orchestra has put months of hard work into perfecting their sound for this concert. “We have been preparing for this since last semester, probably starting around the beginning of November,” Andrew Stapely, music education major and senior, said.
Johnston said he and the other symphony orchestra students spend many hours practicing and rehearsing for concerts like this one. “We’ve been practicing in class time Mondays and Wednesdays for two hours, but practice outside of class for me is anywhere for two hours a day to four hours,” Johnston said. The amount of time spent rehearsing outside of class shows just how much dedication, time and passion goes into making the best show for the public.
One of the unique features of the show will be the diversity of the instruments. Students will be playing everything from percussion to woodwinds during Saturday’s concert.
The feeling among all the interviewed students was that the public will enjoy this concert, more than other symphony orchestra concerts, because they would be able to relate to the music and hear familiar songs.
Johnston said he was excited for this show because “(With) the music from movie soundtracks, compared to normal, classical concert music, there is a lot more involvement from the battery percussion like the snare drum … instead of just the marimba or keyboard set.”
Tickets are $6 for students, military and seniors, and $7 for the general public. Tickets are available at weberstatetickets.com or in the administrative offices of the Val A. Browning Center.
