THE LORD OF THE RINGS SYMPHONY BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND Tickets to go on sale at 10:00 a.m. May 16th
The Houston Symphony performs Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings Symphony.
Friday, July 8, 2005 7:30 PM Jones Hall, 615 Louisiana Saturday, July 9, 2005 7:30 PM
Alastair Willis, conductor Houston Symphony Chorus Charles Hausmann, director Houston Children’s Chorus Stephen Roddy, founder and director Kaitlyn Lusk, lyric soprano
Concert ticket prices are $21-$56. Tickets are available at the Houston Symphony Customer Service Center, 615 Louisiana, by phone at (713) 224-7575 and online at houstonsymphony.org
Join the Houston Symphony for a musical journey into the realm of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, featuring more than 200 musicians and singers, with large original illustrations projected above the Jones Hall stage. 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.
“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.” The choruses will sing in “Elvish,” and musicians will play such instruments as Norwegian fiddles, Japanese drums, African flutes and Tibetan gongs.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Houston Symphony are offering a family package that includes four rear orchestra level tickets to the symphony concert and four passes to the The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition ? all for $189. To purchase this package you must call the Houston Symphony Customer Service Center at (713)224-7575.
To learn more about the Houston Museum of Natural Science The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy: The Exhibition please http://www.hmns.org” TARGET=NEW>click here.
“When Manwë heard of the ways that Melkor had taken, it seemed plain to him that he purposed to escape to his old strongholds in the north of Middle-earth; and Oromë and Tulkas went with all speed northward, seeking to overtake him if they might, but they found no trace or rumour of him beyond the shores of the Teleri …” (The Silmarillion Chapter 8 — Of the Darkening of Valinor)
Having shown his true colours, Melkor has fled to parts unknown. Thinking Melkor hiding in Middle-earth, the powers appear to relax their guard when they throw a party. Stung at not having been invited, Melkor and his new ally Ungoliant gatecrash and proceed to trash the place. The Two Trees are destroyed, Finwe slain and the Silmarils taken.
Is this yet another instance of the Valar being inattentive and forgetful? Was Melkor’s attitude and plan obvious from his earlier confrontation with Feanor over the Silmarils, or did he simply go further than anyone could have thought possible?
And what of Melkor’s pact with Ungoliant? Why did Melkor believe he needed her assistance, and did Ungoliant accept his promise (lightly made as it was) too easily?
Who and what is Ungoliant? Why did Tolkien choose to make her a spider? Why could she not change form if she was a Maia? Or was she something else? And why was Melkor soon to lose his ability to change form at will?
These are just a few of the questions we’ll be discussing at Hall of Fire this weekend. So join us in #thehalloffire on Sunday April 17 as we continue our Silmarillion chats and discuss the Darkening of Valinor!
Time and date: Sunday April 17
America: 2.00pm EST 1.00pm CST 12.00pm MST 11.00am PST
Europe: 7:00pm UK 8:00pm Central Europe
Asia-Pacific 5.00am (Monday) Brisbane 5.00am (Monday) Sydney 7.00am (Monday) Wellington
Chats usually last 45 mins to an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation!
Where?
Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net – the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our java chat client that works inside your web browser (find it here! ) or choose to install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer.
To find out more about using mIRC to connect to TORn IRC server, check out these instructions.
Upcoming topics:
“Silmarillion Chapter 8 – Of the Darkening of Valinor” – Sunday April 17
“Tell us your LoTR fan experience!’ – Saturday April 23 – Sunday May 1
“Silmarillion Chapter 9 – Of the Flight of the Noldor” – Saturday May 7 – Sunday May 15
“Is LoTR unfilmable? Was Tolkien right?” – Saturday May 21 – Sunday May 29
Got a topic? Let us know your idea!
If you have a burning desire to discuss something in Hall of Fire, drop us a line with your topic at halloffire@theonering.net. If we like it, we’ll probably give it a run in the coming weeks – you might even get to guest moderate the session!
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Michael Meads from the Neonatal Trust writes: I am a trustee of a charitable organization called the NeoNatal Trust, based in Wellington NZ. We are responsible for raising funds to buy life support equipment for premature babies and to give support and guidance to those parents and families of babies that have a difficult start to life.
We have been gifted two reproductions of John Howe’s “Barad-Dur” Giclee and film strip collectable plus “Gandalf on Gwaihir over Helm’s Deep” by Alan Lee.
We are currently Auctioning these two stunning pieces of art with trademe.co.nz. The Auction closes 22nd April.
If you go to trademe.co.nz (Trademe is an Auction site like Ebay) and search “neonatal trust” on their site the Charity Auction will come up with all of the detail about the art, how to make a bid and so on.
Turgon writes: Henry Gee has posted some news at his website on the UK book tour for his book, THE SCIENCE OF MIDDLE-EARTH. The first date is today (12 April) in Tolkien’s own city of Oxford, where he’ll be speaking at the Oxford Literary Festival. Here is the full schedule:
12 April: Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival 16 May: Borders, Cambridge 17 May: Cafe Scientifique, Stockton on Tees 24 May: South-West Essex Settlement and Reform Synagogue, Ilford 7 June: Cafe Scientifique, Leicester 18-19 June: Natural History Museum, London 3 October: Cafe Scientifique, Reading
Celebriel writes: When Ringers think of places for Lord of the Rings festivals, Vacaville, CA may not be the first place that comes to mind. But Saturday, hundreds of costumed elves, hobbits, and even ringwraiths strolled through a downtown Vacaville transformed into Hobbiton, listened to a live performance of songs from The Two Towers, sampled lembas bread, and shopped for new swords.
Bette Lucke, owner of the Otter Nature Store, was the chief wizard organizer, assisted by dozens of fellow merchants and other volunteers. Why Vacaville? “Lord of the Rings and Tolkien really wouldn’t let go of me,” Bette says. “I wanted to share them with other people. As a merchant, I saw a good fit, something for everyone, our new library, churches, schools, merchants, and everybody.” She’s been working on this year’s festival for a full year, describing herself before the first events as “excited and very scared.”
Bette first read The Hobbit in college, but didn’t finish Lord of the Rings. Her husband wanted to see the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring, and that’s when she got hit hard. The couple bought copies of Lord of the Rings and spent the following year reading them to each other aloud.
Last year she started with a small event on her own block, on March 25, which she called a New Year’s celebration for the Fourth Age. It featured a few of her business neighbors, including a restaurant and a motorcycle shop which prepared a window display on Lord of the Piston Rings.
Kathie Hoglund, head of the downtown Vacaville Business Improvement District, worked all week on the festival, despite being an accountant the week before the April 15 deadline. “We’re really hoping to do it again next year,” she said. Any surprises? “We weren’t prepared for the number of people from out of the area, even from as far as Tennessee,” said Kathie.
The festival was a true family event. Among the day’s many activities were a costume contest with more than 60 entrants, a hairy foot contest in two divisions (natural and enhanced), trivia contest booths, games for kids, chain mail making demonstrations, and a Two Towers music and reading performance by the Teen Company from the Missouri Street Theatre in Fairfield.
Attendees Juliann and Jeanette from the Cotati/Rohnert Park area learned about the festival through a posting on The One Ring.net and came costumed as Ithilrande (a lady of Dol Amroth) and Arwen, with Juliann’s son Lincoln clad as Legolas. Juliann first read the Trilogy in the late 1960s and even wrote to Professor Tolkien. The Trilogy books were “the first hardcover books I ever bought,” she says, and still has them. After seeing The Fellowship of the Ring, she re-read the books and started sewing again after many years, commenting on how Lord of the Rings inspires personal creativity in a range of fields. She’s now making a wardrobe for her Dol Amroth character for future events.
Craftspeople and vendors also seemed to enjoy the festival. Mark Reed of Rusty Sword Productions, a nonprofit that helps communities and schools through historical reenactment events, had nearly sold out his armoury booth in just a few hours. He would definitely come back next year, and regretted not bringing more merchandise to Vacaville, since “selling swords is such a cut throat business.”
One family of four drove six hours from Costa Mesa in Southern California to stay for the whole weekend. Father Cy has been a Ringer for 30 years, recalling that the trilogy was required reading in his Missouri high school. His wife Annie sewed costumes for the family. They got their children involved in reading the books even before the first film came out.
Saturday evening’s costume ball, celebrating the marriage of Eowyn and Faramir, drew about 150 guests, who enjoyed a buffet supper and entertainment from Celtic band Rats in the Haggis and the Prancing Pony Players (Ringers Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Dernhelm, and their Orc friend).
Already thinking about a return festival next year, Bette Lucke says her own favorite character is Aragorn, both because of the way Tolkien develops his character through the trilogy and because “The world could use a few more leaders who are healers in addition to wielding a sword.”
rohanlady writes: Just found out that David Cronenberg’s “A History of Violence” starring Viggo Mortensen will be shown at this year’s Cannes Festival as well as “Sin City” starring Elijah “Frodo” Wood. Thought you might be interested. It was also stated in VARIETY , but you have to subscribe. [More]
In The Cannes
The Cannes Film Festival looms on the horizon (11th-22nd May) and the Americans are set to dominate once again. Competition entries include comicbook noir Sin City starring Bruce Willis and Clive Owen; David Cronenberg’s A History Of Violence, with Viggo Mortensen as a vigilante killer; Jim Jarmusch’s untitled project featuring Bill Murray; and Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, headlined by Michael Pitt as a suicidal 70s rocker in his final hours.
Of course it wouldn’t be Cannes without Danish director Lars Von Trier, but even his latest is set in the USA. After Dogville, Manderlay is the second part of his Land Of Opportunities trilogy, this time dealing with racial oppression. Willem Dafoe and Lauren Bacall star. Yup, it’s all about as French as freedom fries. [More]
