Albany Symphony, a two-time Grammy Award winner, will present a first-of-its-kind Film Music Festival, made to celebrate music made for media. The festival will be held from October 5 to October 9 at venues such as Albany’s Palace Theatre, Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, University at Albany Performing Arts Center, and MVP Arena.
Headlining the innovative new festival are two concerts featuring the Albany Symphony. On Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7:30pm at the Palace, David Alan Miller and the musicians of the Symphony kick off the 2023-2024 season with Soundtrack New York: Musical Scenes from a Cinematic State.
Inspired by the portrayal of the Empire State in film, and by the incredible composers who call New York home, this musical tour includes classic themes including George Gershwin’s Concerto in F featuring pianist Kevin Cole and Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story suite, as well as music from iconic NY films King Kong (Max Steiner), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Henry Mancini) and Taxi Driver (Bernard Herrmann). Music from contemporary NY composers include Brooklynite Tamar-kali’s work from Mudbound, and Hudson Valley resident Howard Shore’s sweeping landscapes from Lord of the Rings.
On Sunday, Oct. 8 at 7:30 at the Palace, the Albany Symphony presents Video Games Live! An immersive concert experience featuring exclusive orchestral arrangements of music from some of the most popular video games of all time. Musician, composer and creator of Video Games Live Tommy Tallarico and his band will join the Symphony for this performance led by guest conductor Emmanuel Fratianni. Featured video games include Final Fantasy, Halo, Skyrim, Kingdom Hearts, The Last of Us, Undertake, League of Legends and many more.
Albany Symphony teams up with the Empire State Youth Orchestra for a free community concert on Monday, Oct. 9 at 3pm at MVP Arena, in a special event presented by the Albany County – MVP Innovation Partnership. Together, the orchestras will perform music from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and more—a perfect family activity for the day since many kids and families are off on holiday.
Albany Symphony’s Film Music Festival also includes a special Hollywood Cabaret with pianist Kevin Cole on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7:30pm at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Audience members will be seated on stage to join Cole for a night of classic themes from the Silver Screen. Please note that capacity is limited.
On Saturday, Oct. 7, the Symphony and partners at the New York State Writers Institute present Scoring Work in Show Business, a free and open-to-the-public symposium at the University at Albany Performing Arts Center featuring panelists working in the industry. Speakers include producer Nathaniel Reichman, composers Gregory Polzak and Troy Herion, Albany County Film Commissioner Debby Goedeke, and Youth FX Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director Bhawin Suchak. The Symposium runs from 10am to 2pm, with lunch provided.
The Albany Symphony’s Film Music Festival is made possible in part by support through a grant from Market New York and Empire State Development, as well as additional support from the Albany Symphony’s generous partners, patrons, donors and friends. Learn more about Symphony support at AlbanySymphony.com.
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