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Hogwarts is coming to Abravanel Hall this Christmas, as the Utah Symphony will perform John Williams' score to accompany two screenings of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."
Performances are Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 24 at 1 p.m. in the Salt Lake City concert hall at 123 W. South Temple. Tickets start at $27; visit utahsymphony.org.
The orchestra's presentations of "Home Alone," pairing screenings of the film with live performances of Williams' music, were a hit last winter. Utah Symphony | Utah Opera president and CEO Paul Meecham expects such events to grow in popularity as technology makes it easier to "strip out the orchestral soundtrack and enable it to be played live."
"For scores that are rich musically, it actually enhances the experience to hear the wonderful score played live," he said. "It has taken off as a new form of presentation. … A live orchestra filling the hall is very different from hearing the music through speakers."
Salt Lake City is part of an international concert tour produced by CineConcerts in cooperation with Warner Bros. Justin Freer is president of CineConcerts and the series' principal conductor, though it hasn't been determined who will conduct the Utah Symphony dates.
Meecham indicated the orchestra plans to present the rest of the films in the "Harry Potter" series over the next few seasons. "The beauty of 'Home Alone' and 'Harry Potter' is that they're appealing to a pretty broad audience," he said. "It's a fun thing to do around Christmastime."
Catherine Reese Newton