Celebrating the drama of theatre music

Auckland Wind Orchestra celebrates the drama of theatre music

Exciting, beautiful and memorable – popular Stage and Screen music is the theme for the Auckland Wind Orchestra’s upcoming concert at Epsom’s Raye Freedman Arts Centre. Peter Thomas will conduct a programme which includes the colourful overture to Glinka’s opera Russlan and Ludmilla, the moving theme to Schindler’s List and suites from the musicals, West Side Story and Les Misérables.

“I’m especially looking forward to doing the music from Star Wars,” Peter says. “Ever since trundling along to the Civic as a seven-year-old to see the initial release of the very first film, I’ve loved the music. It’s great writing, fun to play and excellent to listen to.”

Other fun, “bonus” pieces on the programme are the themes to the television series, The Simpsons and Thunderbirds.

Film and Stage music has a very real connection to the tradition of classical music. The great opera composer Wagner used the leitmotif technique to attach separate themes to particular people, places or ideas, a technique that’s inspired composers ever since.

“For many people today, the only place they hear ‘classical’ music is when they’re watching a film,” says Peter Thomas, “but those memorable themes work wonderfully well in a concert setting so people should come along and hear an entertaining mix of repertoire played at a high level by one of the leading wind ensembles in the land.”

Joining the Auckland Wind Orchestra to perform the solo part in Schindler’s List is Jane Park. A talented young violinist, she’s a year-13 student at Epsom Girls Grammar School, home of the Raye Freedman Arts Centre.

The concert starts at 8pm on Friday 9th June. Door sales are $15 or, for seniors and students, $10 – call 021 336 063 for ticket reservations. The nearby Southern Motorway and Gillies Avenue off-ramp makes access convenient. Parking is available on Silver Rd. More information is available on the web: www.awo.co.nz

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