K-State Symphony Orchestra students to present 'Home Alone' with live musical score

Experience Kevin McCallister defend his home against the Wet Bandits with ingenious booby traps, accompanied by a live musical score, as the K-State Symphony Orchestra presents "Home Alone" in Concert on Thursday, Nov. 19, and Friday, Nov. 20, in the McCain Auditorium.

A film concert like the K-State Symphony's "Home Alone" event is a dual experience: a full-length film playing on the screen while a full symphony orchestra performs the soundtrack. The audience can expect the movie to run from the opening studio credits to the end credits. The difference between this and a movie is that the recorded soundtrack is muted, and K-State's symphony orchestra will be on stage, playing each musical cue, drum roll and soaring melody live. This is the first full-length feature performance of this type performed at K-State.

This production features the Oscar-nominated score by legendary composer John Williams. Williams also composed film scores for "Jaws," "Star Wars," "E.T.," "Harry Potter" and many other films.

Precision musicality

Rachel Dirks, director of orchestral studies in K-State's School of Music, Theatre and Dance, says film concerts are engaging but also difficult.

"I wanted to challenge my students," she said. "While the K-State Symphony Orchestra is composed of many different majors, the majority are music majors. I wanted them to experience this particular style of music-making so they are prepared for similar performances when they play professionally."

The challenge of a film concert is that the timing of the music to the actions on the screen must be exact. While conducting, Dirks will watch the film on a monitor with a headpiece in one ear while listening to the orchestra with the other ear.

"One of the beautiful things about conducting a piece of music is that I actually have a lot of control in terms of how fast or slow things go, how loud or soft they are," Dirks said. "I get to direct all of that. In this situation, the film dictates everything."

This marks Dirks' first opportunity to direct a film concert, and she recognizes the musical complexities involved.

"In 'Home Alone,' there is a sequence where the Wet Bandits come into the house, and they get hit with a myriad of booby-traps. Each of those hits has musical punctuations that you have to nail precisely on the head, so it's definitely a challenge."

During the live show, the orchestra will play continuously for 103 minutes, in addition to the opening and closing credits, timed to what is on screen. The student musicians are equally up for this unique experience.

"Learning a film concert requires completely different preparation," said Regan Lattey, violinist in music and the accelerated MBA program, El Dorado. "This project is unique because we won't put the entire piece of music together and do a full run until the week of the concerts. While this adds some stress, it makes the concert even more exciting."

A complete viewing experience

Music shapes the emotions and atmosphere of every scene in a film. Without it, even the most visually stunning films can feel flat or incomplete. Dirks and Lattey both hope the audiences enjoy the opportunity to see the film in a new way.

"Music is such an integral part of the film experience," Dirks said. "If you watch a film that has no music, it's just dry. Having live music along with the film creates opportunities for people to hear and see it in a brand new way, to experience film in a natural element."

"Home Alone" in Concert is at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 19 and 20. Tickets are on sale now through the McCain Box Office in person, online, or by calling 785-532-6428. K-State students can attend at no charge while student tickets are available by visiting the McCain Box Office Wednesday-Friday from noon-4 p.m.