March 30: Hollywood Hits- Symphony NH guest conductor Herb Smith at the Capitol Center
Hollywood Hits. You may not remember the movies but you’ll surely know the tunes.
Sunday weather is expected to be cold, wet, rainy and slick in places. Cheer yourself up with a fun concert at Concord’s Capitol Center for the Arts. 3 p.m. Sunday March 30st.
Here’s the view from the first of two installments of Symphony New Hampshire’s Hollywood Hits.
Conductor Herb Smith is widely known in both the classical and jazz worlds. He described preparing the program akin to revisiting his childhood. All of those storied heroes were there.
With 52 musicians on stage, the music was rich and deep with a full orchestral sound. Arranger Jeff Tyzik is a friend of Smith so pieces like The Pink Panther by Henry Mancini, the Best of James Bond movie themes, A great western suite (The Magnificent Seven, How the West was Won, Silverado, Dances with Wolves) and the finale – The Big Movie Suite (Gone with the Wind, Ben Hur, Dr. Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia and Rocky) got some personal background stories.
Just as powerful, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pink Panther, Superman March, Star Trek were also among the standouts of the pieces performed. Composer John Williams figures prominently in the repertoire and Smith delightfully describes Williams as the man “who can take a movie and turn it into music.” Hollywood movies and John Williams are a fine pairing any day of the week.
And the concert is all Hollywood, along with some background surprises from Smith about the origin of the Colonel Bogey March from the movie Bridge on the River Kwai (you get to play a role in this) and the entrance of his ever present friend – his trumpet – which made a guest appearance to the delight of all.
Smith is a serious jazz musician, a trumpet player and personable conductor. He has great audience appeal, a fun sense of humor and makes clear that while many of the pieces are about love, it is “love of music” that is one of the things closest to his heart.
He called Symphony NH “a wonderful orchestra” and applauded the orchestra right along with the audience.
If you’re reading this on Sunday – consider this bright and cheerful opportunity to hum along with the music. You may not remember the movies but you’ll surely know the tunes.
Hollywood Hits Playlist [a Schirmer Theatrical/Greenberg Artists co-production]
- RAIDERS MARCH, by John Williams
- from the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark
- THE PINK PANTHER, by Henry Mancini, arranged by Jeff Tyzik
- from the 1963 film The Pink Panther
- MOON RIVER, by Henry Mancini
- from the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s
- PETER GUNN, by Henry Mancini
- from the 1958-61 TV series Peter Gunn
- COLONEL BOGEY MARCH, by Kenneth Alford, orchestrated by Clark McAlister
- from the 1958 film Bridge on the River Kwai
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, by Elmer Bernstein, edited by Patrick Russ
- from the 1963 film To Kill a Mockingbird
- THE BEST OF BOND, arranged by Jeff Tyzik
- includes music from the films
- Dr. No (1962), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977),
- Live and Let Die (1973),
- For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Thunderball (1965)
Intermission
- SUPERMAN MARCH, by John Williams
- from the 1978 film Superman
- GREAT WESTERNS SUITE, arranged by Jeff Tyzik
- from the films The Magnificent Seven (1960),
- How the West Was Won (1962),
- Silverado (1985) and Dances With Wolves (1990)
- STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS SUITE, by Michael Giacchino
- from the 2013 film Star Trek: Into Darkness
- OUT OF AFRICA– MAIN TITLE, John Barry, arranged by Nic Raine
- from the 1985 film Out of Africa
- THE BIG MOVIE SUITE, arranged by Jeff Tyzik
- from the films Gone With the Wind (1939),
- Ben Hur (1959), Laura (1944), Dr. Zhivago (1965),
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Way We Were (1973) and
- Rocky (1976)
ALL ARRANGEMENTS LICENSED OR PURCHASED BY SCHIRMER THEATRICAL, LLC
