With its dark melody and driving militaristic rhythm, "The Imperial March" has become possibly the most popular music in the Star Wars franchise series. Signifying the might of the Galactic Empire, it's an anthem of evil in full, glorious flight. A piece of music designed to menace and intimidate, "The Imperial March" has long transcended the original Star Wars movie from which it sprang.
The Space Coast Symphony Orchestra presents a special musical journey through the world of Star Wars films at the Scott Center for the Performing Arts in north Melbourne Saturday, December 17 at 7:00 p.m. and at Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center on Sunday, December 18 at 3:00 p.m. Star Wars fans of all ages are welcome to dress in costume.
"Imperial March" is dramatic, bombastic, and has all the qualities of a militaristic march," said Aaron Collins, the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra Conductor and Artistic Director. "It's one of the most popular pieces ever written, and has been used at sports games, concert halls, commercials, and heard in so many different guises. Williams ingeniously weaves parts of this theme throughout other pieces as well, such as Anakin's lighthearted theme from Episode I."
And, who doesn't love the heroic, soaring "Star Wars Main Title?" It's a classic epic film composition of John Williams, a superb example of heart-pounding storytelling through music. The SCSO performance featuring Williams’ rousing tunes from all seven Star Wars films will also be the perfect warm-up to the first of the Star Wars stand-alone films, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” an all-new epic adventure. The film debuts in theaters on December 16.
Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher starred in their roles as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia, but, arguably, the most brilliant member of the team that created the original 1977 Star Wars movie is composer Williams. To this day movie music fanatics debate whether the 83-year old composer's Star Wars score is truly the greatest film score of all time.
No other composer has taken us on more adventures using the power of music. Can you imagine Star Wars, E. T., the Indiana Jones movies, Jurassic Park without his compositions?
One of the things that makes Williams such a master of film scoring is his ability to create meaning with many different pieces of the music, its melody, harmony, rhythm, orchestration. The familiarity and resonance of the Star Wars score has grown with each new installment of the series.
"He is arguably THE greatest storyteller working in film today," Collins asserted, "and Star Wars is the ultimate example. It features some of the greatest music put to film, over thirteen hours in fact. George Lucas always said Star Wars was a space opera and without John Williams, there would be no Star Wars. Diehards and the most casual fans can hum all the tunes with ease. We cannot wait to perform this incredible music from our musical hero."