Cinematic Symphony
The Cinematic Symphony (formerly known as the Austin Wind Symphony) is a musical ensemble based in Austin, Texas. The group is composed of volunteers and is dedicated to preserving and performing the music of film and television.
Overview
The group was founded on June 7, 2005 by its original conductor, Patrick Phillips. The 45-piece volunteer ensemble was assembled in an effort to create a stronger awareness of and appreciation for Film and Television scoring and its composers. The name was changed in 2010 to Cinematic Symphony to more accurately reflect the full orchestra's classification and purpose. In addition to performing four to six concerts annually, the ensemble has also recorded film scores, most notably for the animated 3-D short "Pigeon Impossible".
Celebrity Endorsements
Many celebrities have also endorsed the ensemble with support including:
- George Takei (Mr. Sulu) Star Trek
- David Arquette Eight Legged Freaks
- Burton Gilliam Blazing Saddles
- Candyce McClure Battlestar Galactica
- Harry Manfredini (composer) Friday the 13th
- Tony Todd Candyman
- Trailer voice-over legend Don LaFontaine even recorded the Austin Wind Symphony's tag lines for promotional use.
Concerts
The Cinematic Symphony performs "themed" concerts 4-6 times a year. Previous concerts include:
May 4, 2013 - Star Wars: Cinematic Symphony in Concert: Two conductors conduct the timeless music of John Williams from all six Star Wars episode movies. Free Concert. May the 4th be with you!
March 2, 2013 - Disney Through the Ages: Music spanning seven decades of Walt Disney movies.
December 15, 2012 - Good Guys vs Bad Guys: Your favorite underdogs and villains go head to head in a thrilling live performance featuring music from "Catch Me if You Can," “The Godfather,” “On the Waterfront," "James Bond," and more.
October 28, 2012 - Scores of Scares: It was a creepy “Night on the Bare Mountain” when that “Psycho” “Harry Potter” grabbed a bottle of “Beetlejuice” in his “Jaws” and told me about the night he and “Young Frankenstein” took some “Gremlins” to see “The Dance of the Witches.” I’ll never forget “The Day the Earth Stood Still” because I knew it would never scare me as much as “Ed Wood.”
April 20, 2012 - Legends and Heroes: Music from such films as "Lord of the Rings," "Ben Hur," "Exodus," "Titanic," and more.
February 24, 2012 - From the Vault: Concert announcing permanent conductor Jesus Torres. Hosted by film composer Brian Satterwhite.
November 11, 2011 - Salute to Valor: Cinematic War Themes: Hosted by Jim Kipping, the voice of Netflix and Geraldo at Large, this Veteran's Day concert included movie music from The Patriot, Gettysburg, March from 1941, Wind and the Lion, and more. A Color Guard performed, and there was a moving reading of the Sullivan Ballou letter featuring violin soloist Alden Doyle. All the military branches were recognized during the piece Armed Forces Salute which featured many military personnel.
April 26, 2011 - Childhood Heroes: Hosted by film composer Brian Satterwhite, this concert covered some of the greatest film scores from our favorite childhood heroes, such as Batman, Superman, Harry Potter, King Kong, Hercules, Jack Sparrow, and the Incredibles.
February 2, 2011 – Roundup: Just in time for the huge Austin rodeo, this performance, conducted by Stefan Sanders, featured the powerful music of western movies.
March 23, 2010 - The Music of Video Games: This concert included all the video game favorites including Gerard Marino’s epic orchestral score for Sony Computer Entertainment’s God of War plus a trombone-only tribute to Tetris.
November 13, 2009 - Fantasy Film Scores: Thrilling music from such fantasy films as Twilight, Batman, Lord of the Rings, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Concert attendees were, as usual, encouraged to come in costume.
March 26, 2009 - Hollywood’s Greatest Film Themes: Not only did this concert include the most popular films of all time, but it also included a national food drive inspired by the upcoming film “The Soloist.”
December 5, 2008 - Christmas at the Movies: A free holiday concert to give back to the fans.
October 24, 2008 - Star Trek: the Symphonic Frontier: Star Trek pieces ranging from the original series to all the latest movies. This included a beautiful arrangement of “The Inner Light Theme” for the Ressikan flute from “The Next Generation” series and let to an encore performance in May 2009 at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum.
June 6, 2008 - Adventures in Great Film Music: This tribute to adventure music was a gift (free) to the fans for 3 years of support.
March 25, 2008 - Pigeon Impossible: This was a scoring session for an animated film by Lucas Martell.
March 7, 2008 - The Music of Video Games: This concert was performed to a sold-out crowd of gaming and gaming music fans. Gaming character actors also got involved.
December 31, 2007 - First Night Austin: These movie and television favorites were performed in City Hall on New Year's Eve.
October 19, 2007 - Creature Features: This concert was hosted by Professor Griffin (Joseph Fotinos) of Fangoria TV. Orchestra members and audience were all in costume!
July 20, 2007 - Harry Potter: This Harry Potter tribute was performed to a crowd of over 4,000 for the book premier "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."
May 11, 2007 - Music of the Wild West: This concert of western favorites was hosted by Burton Gilliam of "Blazing Saddles" fame who actually sang and danced during the concert. Even the orchestra wore western attire.
February 16, 2007 - The Epics: This epic performance was hosted by Jim Kipping, the voice of Netflix and Geraldo at Large. It featured movie and television epics as well as a vocal soloist.
December 1, 2006 - Christmas on Broadway!: This holiday gift was held at Highland Mall in north Austin with an audience of hundreds.
October 13, 2006 - Halloween Spooktacular!: This concert featured a tribute to Star Trek's 40th Anniversary with a video thanks to the Austin Wind Symphony by special guest celebrity, George Takei (sulu). The orchestra was is costume. Special guest performer was world-renown theremin player Robert Froehner.
August 4, 2006 - The Music of John Williams: This John Williams tribute was hosted by Shelli Coe, daughter of famed country artist David Allen Coe.
May 12, 2006 - Texas Music Festival: Movie Milestones Encore
April 7, 2006 - Movie Milestones: Unforgettable scores from movies.
December 9, 2005 - Harmonious Holiday: Memorable music from holiday movies and television.
October 15, 2005 - Music of Heroes & Villains: Featuring the best music of everyone's favorite hero movies and TV shows. Special guest performer was world-renown theremin player Robert Froehner.