On November 4-5, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra performed John Williams’ composition from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets while the film played in high-definition on a 40-foot screen.
“I have performed in three concerts for the Harry Potter series and was in the second movie, “The Chamber of Secrets,” with the live orchestra at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center,” Trinity parent Christina Gant said. “I played in the first violin section with the Orlando Philharmonic, and I had to audition for the orchestra in 1999.”
The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, was started in June 2016 with “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and is scheduled to include hundreds of performances across 35 countries around the world through 2018. The introduction of live music with musical media was created by CineConcerts to allow the audience to interact more with famous films that are played in movies.
“Typically, the audience is engaged to a greater extent in live movie orchestras than in traditional films that are played in movies,” Gant said. “For example, the conductor urges the audience to ‘let go’ and chant for their favorite houses like Gryffindor or Slytherin. They are also encouraged to cheer for their favorites characters or boo the villain, in this case Voldemort.”
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra performs in many different places like the Bob Carr auditorium, the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center and in various public parks in the greater Orlando area. Compositions like “Jurassic Park,” “Star Wars” and “E.T” are used by orchestras as a reliable source of revenue.
“John Williams’s film scores are praised for being the most recognizable in cinematic history,” Gant said. “In the business world of music, orchestras are continuously using his work to make money by performing in different places like the Universal Studios Harry Potter Land—the location of our future concert.”
The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra practices for 6 1/2 hours before every show. Rather than recording several parts of the movie score prior to the performance, the orchestra plays the entire length of the movie with a brief intermission.
“Playing a movie score live for two hours and 40 minutes is extremely difficult and taxing because as the performers we have to play all of the music in exact sync with the movie while it is playing,” Gant said. “We rely completely on the conductor and he is looking at a small computer screen in front of him with the exact timings down to the second, so we can try to coordinate our music with the movie on the screen. It is not normal for an orchestra to sit down, and to say the least, it takes extreme concentration and attention to all of the details.”
Coming June 23, 2018, Harry Potter fans of all ages will be able to relive the magic in the “Prisoner of Azkaban,” as the Orlando Philharmonic will continue their outstanding performances.
