Lansing Symphony to accompany 'Harry Potter' on the big screen at Wharton in live performance

Ken Glickman

November 10, 2023 at 9:03 PM·3 min read

The Lansing Symphony Orchestra is performing a special engagement in which it will play the score for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" while the movie plays on a big screen behind it.

EAST LANSING — What beats seeing a movie in the theater with huge speakers playing emotion-evoking music written specifically for the story?

Perhaps watching a movie with a live symphony orchestra playing that same music.

This new form of entertainment has exploded across the U.S. and is coming to Wharton Center for Performing Arts Nov. 17-18.

Concert-goers will hear John Williams’ lush music from "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in all its power and splendor from a full symphony orchestra (in this case, the Lansing Symphony Orchestra) while the film is shown behind the musicians on a 40-foot screen.

“It was in this first Harry Potter movie that Williams gives specific themes for each character," said conductor Ron Spigelman, who is being brought in to conduct the orchestra said. "And you’ll notice how Williams develops each major character through music.”

Music has always been a big part of movie making, but Williams changed everything with his unforgettable scores to “Jaws,” “Star Wars,” “Schindler’s List” and dozens of other films.

“Imagine watching the game of quidditch in 'Harry Potter' being played without the music. It would be flat and uninteresting," Spigelman said

“With the music it becomes scary, anxious, majestic and triumphant. And watching a live symphony orchestra perform the music gives the entire experience a new visual element. Watching the string players playing all of those fast notes adds to the action on the screen," he said.

Not all of the Harry Potter movies have music written by Williams, but the character-specific themes are carried through all eight movies.

“Each movie builds on itself, but the first one sets the tone for all of them," Spigelman said.

Daniel Radcliffe, left, and Emma Watson in a scene from the motion picture "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Today, movie music has become a new element of programming for many symphony orchestras, including the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which has a film series added to each season. When new musicians audition for a seat with an orchestra, they are now asked to play excerpts from movie scores, in addition to solos from such composers as Beethoven or Brahms.

There are several production companies that create such shows. An orchestra is hired, a conductor flies in and a truck brings in the equipment — computers, monitors and the screen.

Although Spigelman has been doing the presentations since 1992, it remains a challenge for him.

“I have a conductor monitor and every single measure and every single beat is linked to the movie," he said. "You are not learning to conduct; you’re learning to fly.

“I have to be absolutely precise. There are certain dramatic moments that happen in the movie, where you have to get it just right with the music. If the action and the music don’t match up, everyone knows. Sometimes there is singing in the movie, which obviously has to be perfectly synchronized with the live orchestra," he said.

The movie/music presentation takes exactly 105 minutes.

“The orchestras loves doing it," Spigelman said. "They love the audience — that they are so into it. And many of the people in the audience have never seen a live symphony orchestra before and they get excited.

“During my opening speech I make it clear that when the film ends, they should stay seated during the credits," he said. "The orchestra will then play the final score (about nine minutes) that goes through all of the themes of the movie. It’s really a wonderful conclusion to the entire show.”