The Dallas Symphony Orchestra Announces a Monumental New Project: The Masters of Film Music

Dallas, TX (PRWEB) November 8, 2009 -- The Dallas Symphony Orchestra today announces a new multi-year programming initiative: the Masters of Film Music. This ground-breaking new series brings the music of some of today’s top film composers to Dallas as part of the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 Dallas Symphony Pops Series. The Masters of Film Music will feature a Dallas Symphony Orchestra-commissioned world premiere work written by each composer, combined with a multi-media career retrospective with images on a larger-than-life screen.

The top composers whose world premiere commissions and career retrospectives will be featured in the Masters of Film Music are James Newton Howard, George Fenton, Theodore Shapiro, Michael Giacchino, Harry Gregson-Williams, and an evening of the “All Time Great Music of Film” which will also feature a new work by Sir Anthony Hopkins, conducted by DSO Music Director Jaap van Zweden.

“This project is revolutionary in the sense that we are combining the works of the top living film composers, whose music is heard by millions of people around the world, with the artistic power of the Dallas Symphony,” said Dallas Symphony Orchestra Chief Marketing and Entertainment Officer Stephen Cook. “The DSO is taking the lead in innovative programming, combining the great music of the movies with the powerful sound of the orchestra. I know our patrons will be thrilled with the result.”

“This new aspect of our Pops Series pairs some of the most recognizable film scores ever written with the incredible talent of our orchestra,” Dallas Symphony Orchestra President Douglas Adams stated. “To hear this music performed in the acoustical perfection of the Meyerson Symphony Center will be a treat for any music lover.”

About the Composers

James Newton Howard is one of the most versatile and in-demand composers currently working in film. A look back on Howard’s impressive film career will include music from movies such as Pretty Woman, The Sixth Sense, King Kong, I am Legend, The Village, Michael Clayton, The Fugitive, The Dark Knight (with Hans Zimmer), My Best Friend’s Wedding and many more. To date, Howard has received eight Oscar nominations, including six for Best Original Score, one Grammy Award, one Emmy Award and four Golden Globe nominations. In addition, he was honored with ASCAP’s prestigious Henry Mancini Award for Lifetime Achievement. James Newton Howard will conduct the Dallas Symphony Orchestra during his world premiere work and career retrospective.

British composer George Fenton is best known for his musical work for film, television and theatre. He has written music for and collaborated with some of the most influential filmmakers of the late 20th century. Among his many film credits are Gandhi (with Ravi Shankar,) The Fisher King, Dangerous Liaisons, Hitch, The Madness of King George, Memphis Belle and many more. Fenton also composed the score to the hit television series Planet Earth and Blue Planet. George Fenton will conduct the Dallas Symphony Orchestra during his world premiere work and career retrospective.

Theodore Shapiro has composed music for film, television and the concert stage. His ability to turn humor into music has lent itself to such blockbuster films as Marley and Me, The Devil Wears Prada, Old School, You, Me & Dupree and countless others. Shapiro has composed the score for several Ben Stiller-produced comedies including Tropic Thunder, Blades of Glory, Dodgeball and Starsky & Hutch, and other notable films like 13 Going on 30 and Year One.

Michael Giacchino has not only scored several well-known feature films, he has also composed music for television shows, animated shorts and video games. Giacchino has penned the music for such films as UP, Mission Impossible III, Star Trek, The Incredibles and Ratatouille, for which he received an Oscar nomination. His compositions have brought joy and laughter to the entertainment world and have earned him immense respect over the years. In 2005, Giacchino garnered an Emmy for his work on the ABC hit show Lost. Michael Giacchino will conduct the Dallas Symphony Orchestra during his world premiere work and career retrospective.

Award-winning British film composer Harry Gregson-Williams got his big break while working under Oscar-winning film composer, Hans Zimmer, in the mid-‘90s and since then has become one of Hollywood’s most sought-after composers. With BAFTA, Golden Globe and Grammy nominations under his belt, including movies such as Shrek 1, 2 and 3, The Chronicles of Narnia Series, X Men Origins: Wolverine and the upcoming film, The Prince of Persia, Williams has also composed for television shows, commercials and video games.

In addition to his award-winning film career, Sir Anthony Hopkins is also establishing himself as a composer. His numerous compositions include music from the films Slipstream and August, Stella Aria, The Mask of Time and Fanfare, among others. Considered to be one of film’s greatest actors, Hopkins is perhaps best known for his Oscar-winning turn as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. Hopkins will join Music Director Jaap van Zweden and the DSO in a performance of “The All Time Great Music of Film” during the 2011-2012 Dallas Symphony Pops Series.

About Jaap van Zweden

The 2009-2010 season marks Jaap van Zweden’s second as music director of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. A Juilliard-trained violinist, van Zweden joined the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra as concertmaster at age 19. It was during his time at the Concertgebouw that van Zweden spent sixteen years being mentored and inspired by such great conductors as Solti, Haitink, Giulini, Harnoncourt and Bernstein, and it was Bernstein who pronounced he was a born conductor and should pursue it as a career. In 1997, van Zweden made his decision to conduct full time and was subsequently named the chief conductor of the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra where he remained until 2003. Highlights of van Zweden’s music directorship at the DSO include the world premiere of August 4, 1964 by Steven Stucky, Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, performances at Napa Valley’s Festival del Sole and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, and the critically acclaimed CD releases of Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies and Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony and Capriccio italien. This season, van Zweden will make his conducting debut with other American orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras, as well as a return engagement with the Chicago Symphony.

About the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

The Dallas Symphony Orchestra has a rich, 109-year history of artistic excellence. As the largest performing arts organization in the Southwest, the DSO is committed to the pursuit of uncompromising musical distinction through innovative and classical programming, and strives to build a community of passionate music lovers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The DSO has grown from a 40-person ensemble to a world-class orchestra since its inception in 1900, and continues to be the cornerstone of the burgeoning Arts District in downtown Dallas; a district now noted as the largest in the nation.

After an exhaustive search, the DSO named Jaap van Zweden as music director beginning in the 2008-2009 season. Eminent music directors such as Antal Dorati, Paul Kletzki, Georg Solti, Eduardo Mata and Andrew Litton laid the groundwork for important elements of today’s DSO, including extensive touring and recording, special community and education concerts and the building of the world-renowned Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.

For detailed bios for each composer, please contact the Dallas Symphony Media Relations Office at 214.871.4061. Additional images and video are available at dallassymphony.com.

Contacts:

Stacie Adams, 214.871.4082

Laura Korenman, 214.871.4061

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