Andrew Grams, a relatively new conductor on the symphony circuit, will not allow himself to be pinned down to a favorite piece of music, or an orchestra or even a composer. But he recently jumped at an offer too good to refuse. “When the BSO asked if I wanted to do the July 4th concert or an all John Williams [tribute,] I thought to myself, ‘All John Williams? Now that’s exciting,'” he recalled. “July 4th concerts can be fun, but the opportunity you get to do an all John Williams [performance] is not as frequent as one would think; especially with an orchestra the caliber of the Baltimore Symphony.”
For Grams the choice was clear. Thursday at the Music Center at Strathmore, audiences will be able to relive the great moments from their favorite films of the last 30 years as the BSO presents the music from “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter,” “Jurassic Park,” “E.T.” and more.
| Onstage |
| The Music of John Williams |
| Where: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| When: 8 p.m. Thursday |
| Info: $25 to $45, 410-783-8000 or 877-BSO-1444, bsomusic.org |
Williams is a composer whose output is so prolific (think of every Spielberg film over the last 30 years) and so popular, that choosing the pieces to perform could be difficult. Add to that the aspect of his popularity. The music is for everybody to enjoy. It is multigenerational and, like Elliott in “E.T.” or Harry Potter, it is a part of our growing up years.
“So many of the selections that we’ve chosen to perform take me back to where I was when I first saw the movie; the age I was,” Grams, now 34, continued.
“I still get that same thrill just from the music alone.”
In spite of the difficulty choosing the particular pieces, (“If we were to play even our wish list, the concert would be over three hours long.”) Grams came up with what he feels is a great program of the really noble pieces combined with a few lesser-known ones.
“There’s a wonderful little scherzo from ‘Indiana Jones’ that nobody has ever heard called the ‘Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra’ from the frequent motorcycle chases in all the Indiana Jones movies,” Grams said. “It’s a brief, virtuosic orchestral piece that’s indicative of the writing of John Williams. It’s a great piece that’s almost never done.”
