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Old 07-24-2017, 09:08 PM
masterofmystery masterofmystery is offline
 
Post Harry Potter Film Concert Series Hollywood review & conductor interview on tour, more

The successful worldwide tour of the Harry Potter Film Concert Series hit Los Angeles earlier this month, and a live orchestra brought John Williams' iconic scores from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, to life at the Hollywood Bowl. SnitchSeeker got the chance to see both incredible experiences, a review of which can be found below.


The excitement was palpable from the moment the venue came into view - a sea of people dressed in scarlet, blue, yellow and green could be seen for miles, all with wide smiles and bright eyes, talking animatedly about the night ahead. Thousands of people of all ages congregated to the Hollywood Bowl last week to revisit the third installment in J.K. Rowling’s worldwide literary phenomenon, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, in a new and uniquely immersive way.

What made this movie going experience like no other was the fact that the showing was accompanied by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who played John Williams’ score from beginning to end. Led by conductor Justin Freer, it was made clear from the very beginning that this outdoor concert was going to be different from your average classical music event.

Freer informed the crowd that the audience was welcome, encouraged even, to respond to the show in any manner. While this kind of invitation could be dangerous, this was a crowd of Harry Potter fans who were all in attendance due to their incessant love for The Boy Who Lived. The special energy brought, arguably due to this rare opportunity to revisit the beloved film, created an even more pleasurable and fun experience. Sure enough, with each iconic scene and the introduction of characters, roaring cheers, clamor and sometimes even boos echoed throughout the amphitheater the entire night.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s sound enhanced the movie in an unprecedented way. Their sound washed over the audience richly, enclosing all in attendance with the action and drama of the movie. The Philharmonic achieved the task of bringing the music to the forefront and focus of the audience without trumping the movie. Instead, the music served to enrich the experience and make for a brilliant, vibrant and intense performance It is certain that all fans in attendance will never watch the Harry Potter series the same way again. Williams’ score undoubtedly contributes to the magic of the films with its wonderfully entertaining intricacies. To be able to hear it played by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in accompaniment to the film was a beautiful way to keep the magic of Harry Potter alive.


SnitchSeeker also got the chance to speak with the concert tour's conductor, Justin Freer, whose excitement to take on Williams' score and beyond was contagious. Freer commented on the world tour so far, conducting the scores for the first three movies in the U.S. and across the globe, and whether he would want to do a show or few at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park attractions at Universal Parks & Resorts.
SnitchSeeker: You guys started back in June 2016. What’s it been like from the first show in Philly up ‘til New York? What’s been the experience for you?
Justin:
It’s been a lot of things. It’s been really busy, which is great. We’ve been able to share this wonderful music in, at least, the first film so far – the Sorcerer’s Stone – in a very prolific way with a lot of people. So it’s been very exciting to collaborate with all these different local orchestras and hear the reactions of audiences worldwide. It’s been educational as well to see and feel just how different the experience can be with, now, thousands of people instead of just dozens in a movie theater with, of course a live orchestra. It’s a lot of fun to be able to experience this thing in a different way.

SnitchSeeker: How do indoor versus outdoor venues compare, like Radio City is indoors compared to the Hollywood Bowl that is outdoors?
Justin:
Well, they certainly come with their own unique set of challenges. When you’re outside the acoustical challenges are very different than when you’re inside a hall. That’s a lot of the challenge that we deal with onstage no matter where we are – for the acoustical balance. How do we achieve an optimal sound with the live music coming offstage versus the dialogue and effects, which are still intact with the original print? So, that’s probably the biggest challenge amongst indoor versus outdoor. But of course, the energy might be different. The crowds are generally larger at outdoor venues, but there are some very large indoor venues such as Radio City New York, which 5,000 people is a lot for an indoor venue. So there’s some variables, but they’re solvable.

SnitchSeeker: Speaking of Radio City, was this the first time you played at Radio City? If so, are there any intimidation because it’s such a famous venue?
Justin:
It’s the first time I’ve been on the podium, yes, as a conductor at Radio City, so that was very exciting. The audience really responded in a very positive, energetic, immersive way to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The music brought a real life to the film that even people who I knew personally that were coming to the show that have seen these types of other shows before, they were really taken aback by this particular film, really talking about how much of a higher level the film was – the music was, perhaps – than some of the other things they’d seen in the past.

SnitchSeeker: We saw the announcement this weekend that they’re going to bring Chamber of Secrets to New York, but are there plans to do all eight movies in the coming years?
Justin:
Yes, that’s the idea. It’s the Harry Potter Film Concert Series. So we’ve since rolled out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Just this last weekend we premiered Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in concert. Over the next several years, yes, we are unraveling all eight films. So it’s a wonderful endeavor for everybody to be involved in those. Especially on the creative side, we’re so happy and humbled to be able to do it. But, I think it will offer something really unique over the years for patrons and fans alike.

SnitchSeeker: Can you talk about what it’s been like doing the Sorcerer’s Stone for so long compared to Chamber of Secrets – getting the orchestra and the different music and everything?
Justin:
Well, one of the great things about John Williams is that he understands the power of the musical theme for a character or a motive or the harmonic structure or rhythms that we become associated with – especially when we see various characters or we see various scenes. So there’s some material that harkens back to in Chamber of Secrets, which helps us to be reestablished again with certain characters throughout the film. But he also introduces so much new music at the same time. So it’s like revisiting an old friend to some degree, but there’s a lot of new things that we really have to study. We’re faced with new challenges. So there’s a lot of new and some variations on the old. So it’s good fun to move on to this next one.

SnitchSeeker: Warner Bros and Universal have this big Celebration of Harry Potter every year in January at Universal Studios Orlando, is that something you’d like to tackle in the coming years? It’s one of the biggest Harry Potter fan gatherings in the world.
Justin:
Sure, we love the Celebration. I love the Universal parks – the Wizarding World is so much fun. As of now, we’ve talked about some things but, for the record, there’s nothing really – unfortunately – to discuss from this side because we don’t have anything in place. I would love to do something there someday. I think it’d be very special, but we don’t have anything planned currently.

SnitchSeeker: So you work with different orchestras for every venue. How do you go about the rehearsal – just working with those different teams?
Justin:
Well, there’s one positive. One of my favorite things about these projects is being able to almost reboot, so to speak, with each new local orchestra. As if we were the same touring orchestra – day in/day out around the world – it’d be a very different experience. So that makes it very exciting and keeps us all on our toes. But we have a very short amount of time, generally – usually only about two rehearsals. Sometimes we get a bit more time than that, but it’s a lot of music to learn in two rehearsals, so it’s a great challenge learning each other’s communication devices, while at the same time breathing life into what J.K. Rowling intended, what Chris Columbus intended, what John Williams intended, in a very short amount of time. It’s a lot of fun.

SnitchSeeker: We know you haven’t started on Goblet of Fire yet, but since you do mostly orchestral music, in Goblet of Fire there is one big rock band. How would that work in terms of your orchestra and the band that was playing during the Yule Ball scene? Is that something you’ll do live or will it play as is?
Justin:
Well, since we’re not yet on Goblet of Fire the mechanics of that film are still to be determined. But I can tell you on the Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets there are not identical scenarios but similar types of scenarios where there’s what you call “source music” in the background. We oftentimes, at least in these two cases – the first two films are now out there – we’ve taken that source music and turned it into live performance. So that was the way we solved it in the first two films. So as we go through the remaining films we’ll have similar challenges and we’ll discuss those solutions when we get to them. We like to put as much as we can onstage, but there are limitations to what you can do. It’s very much a case by case set of solutions.

SnitchSeeker: Can you talk to us about audience reactions – not just during the music, but during the movies? Is that distracting? When we sat there on Saturday there were loud cheers when various characters showed up. Are you guys used to that?
Justin:
It’s an interesting question. I think it’s an important one to ask because, if you put this in historical context, this was quite common actually. People would cheer out loud for their favorite musical moments, their favorite characters. They would oftentimes sneer at the characters that they perhaps didn’t like so much. So it’s something that was once part of our culture in a very, very consistent way.

In concert music, it became, “Well, you have to be very quiet at concerts. You have to hear a pin drop.” And that was the culture for a long time. I think we’re coming out of that again. I think fans are realizing that audience participation, in whatever form that is, is meaningful. Perhaps audience participation is nothing more than listening to a pre-concert talk, or perhaps it’s taking an audience member out of the crowd and having them conduct “Stars and Stripes Forever” at a summer concert. Or perhaps it’s encouraging the audience at the Harry Potter Film Concert Series to cheer out loud for their favorite characters, etc. There is some challenge. Sometimes it’s difficult to hear when we have this beautiful audience reaction that’s so very, very loud, but that makes this concert different, unique and special. I think it’s something that we should welcome. I hope it continues.

SnitchSeeker: What venues are you looking forward to seeing and which movies are you most excited to conduct going forward?
Justin:
We have so many venues. We have hundreds, literally hundreds, of venues coming up over the next year and a half. There’s so many that we’re going to have a beautiful opportunity to share this art with so many people around the world. So, I have some of my favorite cities that I perhaps have friends or colleagues that I enjoy reconnecting with, but there’s a lot of venues that we’re looking forward to. I think that over the course of the next few years, we have a lot of fun things to look forward to.

One of my favorite films, I really enjoyed the Prisoner of Azkaban. It’s one of my personal favorites. I really loved the turn in direction of tone and style both musically, color on picture, the way the characters interact. J.K. Rowling really evolved in a different way in that particular story. So I’m looking forward to that one. But, gosh, I just loved Deathly Hallows. There’s so many moments in Goblet of Fire that I enjoyed. Of course, Sorcerer’s Stone is what really kicked this off for everybody, so it’s a wonderful film as well.
For those fans still interested, the Harry Potter Film Concert Series is still playing at venues across the globe for the years to come. Check here to see if it's playing in a nearby location.
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Old 07-26-2017, 12:16 AM   #2 (permalink)


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It's so cool how SS interviews people involved. We love you masterofmystery!
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