The Indiana University Symphony Orchestra will bring the “Wizard of Oz” to the big screen and perform the score live at the IU Auditorium Nov. 7-8.
Tickets for the annual Jacobs Live at the Movies performance are on sale now. Use the promo code “Wizard” for a discount.
The film has been scrubbed clean of any orchestral music, so students will perform it all along with vocals and dialogue.
“Of course, we play all the notes, but a lot of the notes are actually more like a sound effect or gesture that we're trying to create, instead of, like actual lyrical lines,” said violinist and Jacobs School student Ivy Kan. “That's also something very special.”
Kan said she and others in the Jacobs School want to share classical and orchestral music with the community. She hopes “The Wizard of Oz” is a gateway to classical music.
“I think movies are very approachable,” Kan said. “I bet a lot of people would feel more comfortable going into a movie theater than a classical concert hall.”
And unlike the wizard, Conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos and the orchestra will not be behind the curtain.
He says the audience will watch the original 1939 movie as the orchestra plays on stage.
“In this case, you're going to hear all the orchestral detail live and in person,” Kitsopoulos said. “It's a wonderful experience.”
Kitsopoulos has conducted about 45 films with live orchestras. Following an analog clock to keep time, he will direct about 75 IU students in the orchestra.
He said now he can brag about working Judy Garland, who plays red-shoed heroine Dorothy.
“When Judy sings, Judy sings,” Kitsopoulos said. “She's not going to wait for me, so I've got to be with her.”
