Lord of the Rings Symphony
October 29 & 30 2004
words Gina
Having seen the first part of the concert in the form of the premiere of The Fellowship of the Ring concert suite at the Hollywood Bowl in 2002 (see Bowlmoot), we were excited to follow the news about a full Lord of the Rings Symphony beginning in New Zealand and then traveling the world. The question became, where would we see it? Word came that it would indeed make its way to the Hollywood Bowl once again, and we certainly thought of making a road trip down that way again. Then it was confirmed that the symphony performance would be coming to our very own town! We weren't sure at first how we might be involved as a music group, but we kept our eyes and ears open for possibilities.
Finding out that Bowlmoot II in Hollywood would be at the end of September was a bit of a disappointment, what with member Rachel's wedding falling within that same week, so we decided to concentrate on what was happening in our own neighborhood. One option was the spectacular Symphony Gala planned by Utah's local group, Into the West, which sounded wonderful-with a good cause to boot! However, it turned out we had other plans.
Dorian Mirth member Melonie was able to use her professional connections to get us in the loop with the Utah Symphony and secure our place as lobby entertainment. We were naturally thrilled to become part of this event! Plans were made, play lists created, costumes pressed, and we arrived ready to entertain symphony audience members before they took their seats for an evening of Lord of the Rings. We played for nearly an hour before performance time both nights of the event, attending the show itself on Saturday October 30. A big thank you to all the people who stopped to listen (creating a bit of lobby traffic jam), and were so appreciative of our music. We truly enjoyed moving between Renaissance pieces, folk songs and such Lord of the Rings favorites as 'Concerning Hobbits' and an instrumental version of 'Into the West'.
It was a night to remember as we ran into many friends, such as Line Party guru MrCere, Gala participants who stopped on their way in, and others we have met over the years at various events. Scott Iwasaki, The Deseret News music critic, was kind enough to stop for a quick hello (he had written a newspaper piece on us earlier this year).
As for the symphony itself? Amazing, of course! What a wonderful opportunity to hear such music in one of the most acoustically and aesthetically acclaimed venues, Abravanel Hall. The brass section sounded bright and loud, the strings were dramatic and beautiful, and the vocals incredible. Boy soprano Ryan Tani was a particular crowd favorite, and for good reason. Conductor Markus Huber did a great job of leading the talented musicians and vocalists. All this was accompanied by incredible and emotional Alan Lee sketches projected on a huge screen behind the chorus. It was truly amazing! Thanks to everyone involved for a memorable evening!
Page created November 9, 2004
