More than 100 Northwestern students and Evanston residents were treated to a night of music from popular motion pictures Thursday.
The event, sponsored by the Bienen School of Music Student Advisory Board, was held at Pick-Staiger Concert Hall. The Movie Music Concert Orchestra performed pieces from hit movies such as “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Peter Pan.”
“It’s good music that people recognize and like,” said Deanna Tham, a first-year Bienen graduate student who conducted pieces from “Lord of the Rings” and “The Cowboys.” “It’s really a pleasure to get to know the scores and understand what goes into it.”
Weinberg freshman Neel Lalkiya said the orchestra did a good job performing pieces that conjured images from movies, including “Lord of the Rings,” of which he said he is a big fan.
The concert was first performed in 2007 to offer a free music event for the community.
The goal of this year’s concert was to promote town-gown relations by working more closely with communities surrounding NU, said Caitlyn Walsh, Bienen senior and outreach chair of the Student Advisory Board.
The orchestra has been preparing for the concert since Fall Quarter, said second-year Bienen graduate student Frank Watkins.
“Really it just came down to deciding what would be a great concert program that our audience would enjoy,” said Watkins, who conducted pieces from “Harry Potter” and “Peter Pan.”
Bienen freshman Lizzy Conger said she went to the show to support a friend who was playing in the orchestra, but was also intrigued by the concept of hearing music from movies.
“How can you resist Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean?” Conger said.
Roderick Cox, a second-year Bienen graduate student, conducted pieces from “Jurassic Park” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Cox said he loved “Jurassic Park” as a kid, so being able to conduct the theme from the movie was “pretty cool.”
Cox said he hoped people were able to relate to the music.
“Maybe people can kind of connect to when they first saw a film and just enjoy the music in real life, in real time,” he said.
