Film Music Concert John Williams

For the 35th edition of the Ghent Film Festival (7-18 October), the Brussels Philharmonic (Flemish Radio Orchestra) will be performing tunes by five-time Oscar winner John Williams. In a career that spans six decades, Williams has composed many of the most famous film scores in history, including Jaws, ET, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Superman, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List. The Brussels Philharmonic will be accompanied by three choirs: the Flemish Radio Choir, the Musa Horti and the Flemish Opera children’s choir.

John Williams is arguably the best score writer Hollywood has to offer, with a unique talent for writing memorable themes. The accomplished American composer has won countless awards for his work, including five Oscars. He has also received 45 Academy Award nominations. Williams is especially well-known as the dramatic theme writer for Indiana Jones, Superman and Star Wars. A large part of Williams’ immense success is due to his longstanding collaboration with director Steven Spielberg. The two began working together on Spielberg’s debut film, in 1974, and Williams has scored every single one of Spielberg’s films ever since. The first success came with Jaws, in 1975, which not only put Spielberg on the map in movie land, but also catapulted Williams onto the A-list of film composers. Two years later, Williams struck gold again with Star Wars, the most popular soundtrack of all time, selling many millions of copies and mirroring the film in its cult following. Other massive successes include blockbusters Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman, Dracula, ET, the Indiana Jones trilogy, Home Alone, JFK, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and the five additional Star Wars episodes.

The John Williams film music concert will be held on Sunday 12 October at 5.00 p.m. at ‘t Kuipke in Ghent. The Brussels Philharmonic (Flemish Radio Orchestra) will be serving up a combination of crowd-pleasing tunes from Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Harry Potter and Jurassic Park, conducted by Dirk Brossé. To mark the occasion, there will be three choirs on hand to add colour to the orchestral palette: the Flemish Radio Choir, the Musa Horti and the children’s choir of the Flemish Opera Foundation. In addition, the performance will feature film clips projected in the background. Die-hard film concert goers can also catch a preview of this concert at St Bavo’s Square on 21 July during the Ghent Festivities. The Ghent Film Festival and the non-profit organisation Beneath the Dragon will be hosting a free film music concert starring the Brussels Philharmonic (Flemish Radio Orchestra). The programme includes popular tracks from Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and other favourites.

With its focus on film music, the Ghent Film Festival has carved out its own unique niche on the international circuit. True to form, the 35th edition has another three music concerts on the menu. On 15 October, Gabriel Yared will be kicking things off with music from Anthony Minghella films (The English Patient, The Talented Mr Ripley), followed by a concert with Darren Aronofsky composer Clint Mansell (The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream) on 16 October. On 17 October, folk rock sensation Kadril will be performing tracks from Brokeback Mountain, Shakespeare in Love, Walk the Line, Barry Lyndon and Black Cat White Cat. It all comes to a close on 18 October with the World Soundtrack Awards ceremony, followed by a concert with Tuur Florizoone (Moscow, Belgium), Oscar winner Dario Marianelli (Atonement) and David Lynch composer Angelo Badalamenti (Twin Peaks, the City of Lost Children, Mulholland Drive).

Concert tickets available from Fnac: www.fnac.be - 0900 00 600 (€0.45/min)
For more information, go to www.filmfestival.be.