Update: This giveaway is now closed.
Classical music is some of the most beautiful music ever written, but many new listeners experience a learning curve before they can truly enjoy it. There are many ways to get introduced to classical music; for many of us, it’s through cartoons or movies. Last year, the San Antonio Symphony performed the score of Star Trek: Into Darkness live-to-film at the Majestic Theatre—a breathtaking experience. (Read about it in this earlier post.) In this new season, the Symphony is offering two performances of the John Williams score of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial on Friday, September 11 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, September 12 at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available from Ticketmaster or by calling the Symphony box office at (210) 554-1010.
The Symphony has shared a few tickets with me; I will give away a four-pack of tickets to a lucky reader, and use a few myself. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment, no later than Tuesday, September 8, sharing a favorite movie music moment. I will randomly choose a winner and send notice by email.
It’s fitting for the Symphony to perform film scores at the Majestic Theatre, which opened on Flag Day in 1929 as a movie palace, and later served for many years as the home of the San Antonio Symphony. On February 19-20, 2016, the Symphony will be back at the Majestic for Raiders of the Lost Ark (i.e., the first Indiana Jones movie)—another legendary John Williams score.
When my husband and I went on a date night to the Majestic last year to hear the Star Trek score performed live-to-film, we weren’t sure what to expect. How would it be different from a Classics concert? The biggest change is the gigantic movie screen that hangs a few feet in front of the stage. The stage is dim, but all the musicians are wearing headphones so they can listen to a click track. None of the musicians can see the film while they are playing the score. The conductor, however, is watching a timestamped version of the film on a small screen. Keeping the music in synch with the movie must be a challenge, but the Star Trek score was perfectly timed. Hearing the music explode during those tense moments of action was truly thrilling.
E.T. is one of the most beloved movies of the 20th century, telling the story of a boy who feels lost in his fragmenting family who bonds with an alien who feels lost on a strange planet. The Saturday presentation, an hour earlier at 7:00 p.m., provides an opportunity to share this experience with your children. The score reinforces the suspenseful and emotional moments of the film, and earned an Academy Award for Williams.
To enter the giveaway for a four-pack of tickets to the San Antonio Symphony’s live-to-film presentation of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, please leave a comment, no later than Tuesday, September 8, sharing a movie music memory. I will choose a winner at random and notify him or her by email. The tickets will be at will call; bring your photo ID to the box office. The winner may choose to attend either the Friday night or the Saturday night performance. Good luck!
Disclosure: The San Antonio Symphony gave me up to four tickets for my family to use at the performance, and four tickets to give away.
