Jeff Duncan, Assistant Manager of Media Relations for the Houston Symphony writes:
Houstonians will be able to experience a two-hour journey into the magical world of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth on July 1 and 2, when there will be two performances of Howard Shore’s monumental composition The Lord of the Rings Symphony in Six Movements, performed by the Houston Symphony, four singers, the Houston Symphony Chorus, and the Houston Children’s Chorus, conducted by Alexander Mickelthwate.
This symphonic adventure has sold out in every city where it has played since its premiere in March. The choruses will sing in “Elvish,” and musicians will play such instruments as Norwegian fiddles, Japanese drums, African flutes and Tibetan gongs.
More than 250 musical performers, enhanced by enormous Lord of the Rings images, will make for a truly breathtaking musical experience. The performances will feature original concept and storyboard artwork from the films by artists Alan Lee and John Howe. The images will be projected on a gigantic screen hung above the orchestra and will chronologically align with the music as the story of the hobbits’ journey from the peaceful Shire to the dreaded land of Mordor unfolds.
Shore has based this two-hour symphonic adventure on selections from his multi-Oscar and Grammy-award winning scores from the recent Lord of the Rings films.
“This Lord of the Rings Symphony is a two-hour piece based on the 12 hours of music I wrote for the three films,” says Howard Shore. “Each film was a four-hour composition. And this new symphony takes a concert audience through the story of the Lord of the Rings in a narrative way, using the choirs, using the singing.”
Howard Shore is one of Hollywood’s most prolific composers. With more than 60 movie scores, including The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Ed Wood, The Fly, and Naked Lunch, Shore’s compositions are well recognized. His work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy earned “Best Score” and “Best Song” at this year’s Academy Awards Ceremony.
Thursday, July 1, 2004, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, July 2, 2004, 7:30 p.m.
Alexander Mickelthwate, Conductor
Houston Symphony Chorus
Charles Hausmann, Director
Houston Symphony Children’s Chorus
Stephen Roddy, Founder and Director
Concert ticket prices are $20 – $55. Tickets are available at the Jones Hall box office, by phone at 713-224-7575 ($2.75 per ticket handling fee applies) and online at www.houstonsymphony.org. Tickets can also be purchased online through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.com.
