Utah Symphony Announces Zion Bank MUSIC IN FILM Concert Series As Part Of The 2018-19 Season

Building upon the overwhelming audience appetite for film screenings coupled with live orchestra playing the score, the Utah Symphony announced its Zions Bank Films in Concert series in the 2018-19 season featuring five orchestra presentations paired with blockbuster and award-winning motion pictures on the big screen at Abravanel Hall. Packages for the Films in Concert series go on sale February 8, 2018 at 10 AM via www.utahsymphony.org and (801) 533-6683. Single tickets for each film start at $29 and go on sale at varied intervals throughout the year.

"Ghostbusters," the 1980s cult classic about a team of Columbia University scientists who wage a high-tech battle against the supernatural, will kick off the opening of the Films in Concert series on November 2 and 3; "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban In Concert," the third Harry Potter film in the series, will be presented on November 29, 30 and December 1; Academy Award winner for Best Picture, "Casablanca," will follow on March 1 and 2; the adventures of Luke Skywalker and John Williams' epic score will hit the screen with "Star Wars: A New Hope" on May 9, 11 and 13; and the fourth Harry Potter film in the series, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire In Concert," will conclude the Films in Concert series on June 20, 21 and 22.

"We have been thrilled this season by the overwhelming response to our concerts presenting full length features films on the big screen with Utah Symphony performing the soundtrack live," said Utah Symphony | Utah Opera President and CEO Paul Meecham. "It adds an extra dimension to the symphonic experience, and is attracting a new generation of concertgoers to these great movie scores. In the 2018-19 season, we have programmed five films that feature incredible musical scores, and because of demand we have added a third concert date for several presentations of the films."

The Films in Concert series opens on November 2 and 3 with a much-beloved blockbuster that put Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man firmly on the map of popular culture. Peter Bernstein, son of the score's composer Elmer Bernstein, conducts the Utah Symphony as they perform the iconic score live while the full-length feature film "Ghostbusters" plays out on the big screen. "Ghostbusters" was written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis and produced and directed by Ivan Reitman.

On November 29, 30 and December 1, CineConcerts founder and guest conductor Justin Freer invites fans back to J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World for an evening of music and magic in "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert," the third film in the Harry Potter series. Fans of all ages can relive the magic of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's third year at Hogwarts in high-definition with John Williams' complete score performed live to picture by the Utah Symphony.

Earning an OscarÒ nomination for the score, the spellbinding and masterful music composed by John Williams became a celebrated classic, conjuring beautiful, soaring motifs continuing the adventures of Harry Potter and his friends on their magical journey.

CineConcerts and Warner Bros. Consumer Products announced the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, a new global concert tour celebrating the Harry Potter films, in 2016. Since the world premiere of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in Concert in June 2016, more than half a million fans have enjoyed this magical experience from J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, which is scheduled to include over six hundred performances across more than 38 countries worldwide through 2018.

The next film in the series, the classic silver screen love story "Casablanca," comes to life at Abravanel Hall on March 1 and 2, 2019 under the baton of Associate Conductor Conner Gray Covington. Widely regarded as a landmark in American cinema, watch all the drama unfold as the Utah Symphony performs Max Steiner's moving score live while the entire film plays on the big screen. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture and lauded as one of the greatest movies of all times by the American Film Institute, "Casablanca" sweeps you up in the action as Rick (Humphrey Bogart) struggles to do what is right for himself, and for his long-lost love, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman).

Next, Jedis will flock to witness "Star Wars: A New Hope" in Concert on May 9, 11 and 13, 2019. A young Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) begins to discover his destiny when, searching for a lost droid, he is saved by reclusive Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness). A civil war rages in the galaxy, and Rebel forces struggle against the evil Galactic Empire, Luke and Obi-Wan enlist the aid of hotshot pilot, Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Joined by the quirky droid duo R2-D2 and C-3PO, the unlikely team sets out to rescue Rebel leader Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and make use of the stolen plans to destroy the Empire's ultimate weapon. In a legendary confrontation, the rogue group mounts an attack against the Death Star for a climactic battle with the evil Sith Lord Darth Vader. Associate Conductor Conner Gray Covington leads the Utah Symphony as they perform John Williams's Oscar-winning score live while this epic film plays on the big screen.

The final presentation in the 2018-19 Films in Concert is "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" in Concert, the fourth film in the Harry Potter series, on June 20, 21 and 22, 2019.

Harry Potter is mysteriously entered into the Triwizard Tournament, a grueling contest among three wizarding schools in which he confronts a dragon, water demons and an enchanted maze only to find himself in Lord Voldemort's grasp. All will change when Harry, Ron and Hermione leave childhood forever and face challenges beyond their imagining.

Winning both the International Film Music Critics AWARD (IFMCA) and ASCAP Film and Television Music Award for the score, the rich tapestry of music composed by Patrick Doyle ("Brave," "Hamlet," "Sense and Sensibility") brought fresh emotional gravitas with darker melodic undercurrents as Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione face these new adventures.

The Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series launched during the 2017-18 season with five full-length feature films on the big screen at Abravanel Hall: "Raiders of the Lost Ark" in Concert, Disney in Concert: Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," the world premiere screening of "High Noon" in Concert, and Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: the Curse of the Black Pearl."

For more information and to purchase tickets for Utah Symphony's Films in Concert series, visit utahsymphony.org/filmsinconcert.

For more information on the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, please visit www.harrypotterinconcert.com.

PROGRAMS

"Ghostbusters" in Concert
November 2 & 3, 2018 | 7 PM | Abravanel Hall
Ghostbusters©1984 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Peter Bernstein, conductor
General Public Tickets On Sale - August 17, 2018 at 10 AM

"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" in Concert
November 29, 30 & Dec 1, 2018 | 7 PM | Abravanel Hall
Justin Freer, conductor

General Public Tickets On Sale - September 7, 2018 at 10 AM
"Casablanca" in ConcertMarch 1 & 2, 2019 | 7 PM | Abravanel HallConner Gray Convington, conductor
General Public Tickets On Sale - June 19, 2018 at 10 AM

"Star Wars: A New Hope" in Concert
May 9, 11 & 13, 2019 | 7 PM | Abravanel Hall
Presentation licensed by Disney Concerts © All Rights Reserved
Conner Gray Covington, conductor
General Public Tickets On Sale - March 8, 2019 at 10 AM

About Utah Symphony

Founded in 1940, the Utah Symphony performs more than 175 concerts each season and offers all Utahns easy access to world-class live musical performances of the world's greatest music in the state's top venues. Since being named the orchestra's seventh music director in 2009, Thierry Fischer has attracted leading musicians and top soloists, refreshed programming, drawn increased audiences, and galvanized community support. In addition to numerous regional and domestic tours, including the Mighty 5 Tour of Utah's national parks, the Utah Symphony has embarked on seven international tours and performed at Carnegie Hall in Spring 2016 coinciding with the orchestra's 75th anniversary celebrations. The Utah Symphony has released more than 100 recordings, including Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in Fall 2017, Mahler's Symphony No. 1 (2015) and Dawn to Dust (2016), which features three Utah Symphony-commissioned works by Nico Muhly, Andrew Norman, and Augusta Read Thomas. Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, the orchestra's parent organization, reaches 450,000 residents in Utah and the Intermountain region, with educational outreach programs serving around 75,000 students annually. In addition to performances in its home in Salt Lake City, Abravanel Hall, and concerts throughout the state of Utah, the Utah Symphony participates in Utah Opera's four annual productions at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre and presents the six-week Deer Valley Music Festival each summer in Park City, Utah. With its many subscription, education, and outreach concerts and tours, the Utah Symphony is one of the most engaged orchestras in the nation. For more information visit www.utahsymphony.org

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Season Sponsor for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera is the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

About CineConcerts CineConcerts is one of the leading producers of live music experiences performed with visual media. Founded by producer/conductor Justin Freer and producer/writer Brady Beaubien, CineConcerts has engaged millions of people worldwide in concert presentations that redefine the evolution of live experience. Recent and current live concert experiences include "Gladiator," "The Godfather," "It's a Wonderful Life," Dreamworks Animation In Concert, "Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage 50th Anniversary Concert Tour," and "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

Justin Freer has quickly become one of the most sought-after conductors of film music with a long list of full symphonic live to projection projects. He has appeared with some of the world's leading orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. >From full-length movie screenings with live orchestra to music-interactive sporting event experiences to original 3D-environment holiday programming, CineConcerts is at the forefront of live entertainment.

About Warner Bros. Consumer ProductsWarner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP), a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, extends the Studio's powerful portfolio of entertainment brands and franchises into the lives of fans around the world. WBCP partners with best-in- class licensees globally on an award-winning range of toys, fashion, home décor, and publishing inspired by franchises and properties such as DC, J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World, Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera. The division's successful global themed entertainment business includes groundbreaking experiences such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi (opening 2018). With innovative global licensing and merchandising programs, retail initiatives, promotional partnerships and themed experiences, WBCP is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

About Disney Concerts

Disney Concerts is the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras and presenters on a worldwide basis. Disney Concerts' concert packages include a variety of formats, such as "live to picture" film concerts and themed instrumental and vocal compilation concerts, and range from instrumental-only symphonic performances to multimedia productions featuring live vocalists and choir. Current titles include the "Star Wars" Film Concert Series (Episodes IV-VII), "Beauty and the Beast," "The Little Mermaid," "Fantasia," "Pixar In Concert," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," "Alice In Wonderland," "Frozen," "Ratatouille," "The Pirates of the Caribbean" series (Episodes I-IV), and Silly Symphonies, which last year collectively accounted for over 400 performances in many of the world's top concert venues, including Lincoln Center, Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Forum and the Hollywood Bowl. Numerous new concert packages and touring productions from Disney's portfolio of studios, including Disney's feature animation and live action studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel, are currently in development.