Symphony will do ‘Star Wars’ show at Ferguson Center
April 6, 2016
A couple of months from now, in a music hall that isn’t so far, far away …
The Virginia Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday announced a special show at the Ferguson Center performing music from the “Star Wars” film series. The show, titled “The Symphony Strikes Back,” is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 5.
The familiar musical scores were composed by the legendary John Williams, winner of five Academy Awards and 22 Grammy Awards. Williams composed the scores for the first and second trilogies ofGeorge Lucas‘ “Star Wars” saga, and earned his latest Oscar nomination this past year for his work on “The Force Awakens,” which is the first film in the third trilogy.
“That situation almost never happens,” Rous said. “I can’t think of a single time that the music to a movie has been made available to orchestras while the movie was still playing in theaters. I think John Williams cares deeply about symphony orchestras and goes out of his way to make his music available to us in this way.”Tickets, starting at $25, will go on sale at 9 a.m. Tuesday
Some elements of Williams’ compositions are instantly recognizable as part of the “Star Wars” canon — such as the majestic theme associated with films’ opening credits, and the ominous Imperial March that signals the arrival of Darth Vader. Rous said his favorite piece is a relatively short one, Yoda’s theme from “The Empire Strikes Back.”
“It’s such a little gem,” Rous said. “I think ‘Yoda’s Theme’ is dearest to my heart. The melody is so wonderful. John Williams is an underappreciated melody writer.
“His music is so well composed for the symphony. The orchestration, which instrument is chosen to play which musical figure, is just spot on. When you hear the music designed for the French horn, it’s perfect French horn music. His fantastic figures for strings and woodwinds are just perfect string- and woodwind-writing. He has such a great feel for musical drama.”
Rous hints that the show may even provide some hints about the next two “Star Wars” films, scheduled for release in 2017 and 2019.
The Internet and social media is filled with fan theories about the backgrounds of certain characters and links between “The Force Awakens” and earlier films. Rous notes that some of the theories are built around perceived musical clues that he may try to explore in the show at the Ferguson Center.
“People have speculated that there may be hints about Rey’s origin based on musical motifs that are similar to the motifs from earlier movies,” Rous said. “It’s thought that John Williams has inside knowledge of the scope of the future films, and he laid clues in his musical themes. So we could do a segment in the concert dedicated to fan theories that are musically derived. We could play those motifs juxtaposed against each other in a way that you can only have in a live concert setting, and people can see for themselves what the theories entail.”
