Symphony Pops concert to spotlight classic Hollywood themes
Chelsea Tipton II, music director of the Symphony of Southeast Texas, is putting together a concert comprised entirely of familiar songs from classic movies and television shows. “
SOST Goes to the Movies!” will be held at the Julie Rogers Theater at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 21. Tickets range from $14 to $41. Special pricing is available for seniors and students.
“The concert is part of our pop series,” Tipton said. “Every year we do four classical concerts and one pop piece. This year the theme is movies.
“When we looked at Hollywood, we decided to not only look at familiar music from movies, but to take from classic television as well. We wanted pieces that young people would recognize, like the theme from ‘007’ or ‘Spider Man,’ and the music from Harry Potter — but we made sure to include the classics as well.”
The concert will feature more than just a musical performance.
“When you are putting together a concert like this, there needs to be a multimedia component to it,” Tipton said. “There will be other features accompanying the music, like lighting, and images from the movies and shows. There will be a lot for the audience to experience and it should be really dynamic.”
A lot of elements have to be carefully organized to ensure the concert flows well, Tipton said.
“The musicians of the Symphony of Southeast Texas are incredibly talented, but there is more to putting on a show than that,” he said. “The biggest challenge, for me personally, is keeping all of the parts moving in a consistent way during the concert.
“Everything has to happen when it is suppose to happen. There are many short pieces, and the key is figuring out how to move quickly and seamlessly from piece to piece so there are no pauses.”
Ramona Young, drama teacher at All Saints Episcopal school and Divergent Theater artistic, will co-host the event.
“She brings the drama and the Hollywood history,” Tipton said.
Young said she is excited to be working with the symphony.
“There is so much talent there and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” she said. “There will be a bit more humor than your average concert — and there will be movie trivia that has to do with the content of the concert. It will be fun for people of all ages.
“The concert will be great fun for movie buffs, particularly because it falls on the eve of the 87th Oscar awards ceremony, and we’ll have several Oscar-winning pieces from years past.”
Tipton said that the concert promises to be a lot of fun, and is the perfect introduction to the symphony.
“This is a really wonderful concert to come to if you’ve never seen or heard the orchestra live before, especially for young people” he said. “There will be so much for people to see, and the pieces are songs most people will recognize, not just from classic movies like ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s,’ but from television shows like ‘Dragnet,’ ‘The Lone Ranger,’ and ‘I Love Lucy.’”
The Julie Rogers Theatre is located at 765 Pearl Street in Beaumont.
For more information and tickets, visit sost.org or call 409-892-2257.
Story by Haley Bruyn
ISSUE Contributor