Star Wars: Film Concert Series

Coming in April!

Star Wars: Film Concert Series to Feature Iconic Scores Performed Live to Film

Film Concert Series features Composer John Williams’ Complete Scores from

A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back,

Performed Live to Picture by the NZSO,

Conducted by Hamish McKeich

28 March, 2019 – Get set to journey to a galaxy far, far away in just four weeks when the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra presents the Star Wars: Film Concert Series in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch.

The NZSO will perform to screenings of the complete films A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back with Oscar-winning composer John Williams’ musical scores performed live to the films. The concerts will be led by NZSO Associate Conductor Hamish McKeich, beginning with two screenings of The Empire Strikes Back at Wellington’s TSB Arena on 28 April.

A New Hope is performed at Auckland’s Spark Arena on May the 4th and The Empire Strikes Back on 5 May.

On 3 August, A New Hope will be performed at Christchurch’s Horncastle Arena.

Since the release of the first Star Wars movie 42 years ago, the Star Wars saga has had a seismic impact on both cinema and culture, inspiring audiences around the world with its mythic storytelling, captivating characters, groundbreaking special effects and iconic musical scores composed by Williams.

Fans will be able to experience the scope and grandeur of these beloved Star Wars films in a live symphonic concert experience. The full schedule is below:

28 April, 1:00pm & 6.30pm TSB Arena, Wellington – The Empire Strikes Back

4 May, 7:00pm Spark Arena, Auckland – A New Hope

5 May, 4:00pm Spark Arena, Auckland – The Empire Strikes Back

3 August, 7:00pm, Horncastle Arena, Christchurch – A New Hope

Legendary composer Williams is well known for scoring all eight of the Star Wars saga films, beginning with 1977’s Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope) for which he earned an Academy Award for Best Original Score. His scores for Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Wars: The Last Jedi each were nominated for Oscars for Best Original Score.

Williams has won five Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, seven British Academy Film Awards, and 24 Grammy Awards. With 51 Academy Award nominations, Williams is the Academy’s most nominated living person and the second most-nominated individual in history, after Walt Disney. In 2005, the American Film Institute selected Williams' score to 1977's Star Wars as the greatest American film score of all time. The soundtrack to Star Wars also was preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry, for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Williams was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl's Hall of Fame in 2000, and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 2004, the National Medal of Arts in 2009, and the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2016. Williams has composed the scores for eight of the top 20 highest-grossing films at the U.S. box office (adjusted for inflation).

The Star Wars: Film Concert Series is produced under license by Disney Concerts in association with 20th Century Fox and Warner/Chappell Music.

Tickets are available from Ticketmaster for the Wellington and Auckland performances, and Ticketek for Christchurch. For more information go to nzso.co.nz/starwars

STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.

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.

Attached: two images from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Images can only be used to refer to Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert. Credit: © 2018 & ™LUCASFILM LTD. All Rights Reserved © Disney

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Film Synopsis

"The Force is strong with this one..."

Set 30 years after Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars: A New Hope, the fourth episode of the saga, returns to the desert planet of Tatooine. 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.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Film Synopsis

"You must feel the Force around you..."

The battle for the galaxy intensifies in this thrilling fifth episode of the unfolding saga. As Imperial Forces launch an all-out attack on the Rebel Alliance, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) flee to Cloud City where they are captured by Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) journeys to the mysterious, marshy planet of Dagobah, where the wise Jedi Master Yoda teaches the young hero the ways of the Force.

Little does Luke know that all his Jedi training will be called upon so soon. A stunning revelation-- and a seeming life-or-death duel with Darth Vader-- await.

ends

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