The mesmerizing sounds of the film music composed by five-time Oscar award winning composer John Williams performed by the Rockford Symphony Orchestra will fill the Coronado Performing Arts Center for two concerts at 9:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. on Friday, October 26, 2007. The annual Youth Concert targets regional fifth and sixth graders to hear the region’s finest professional symphony orchestra. The concert is open to students from public, private, parochial, and home schools with students coming this year from Stephenson, Lee, Ogle, Boone, McHenry, DeKalb, as well as Winnebago counties. More than 3,500 students and teachers will be attending this year’s concert sponsored by Alpine Bank.

RSO Music Director Steven Larsen will illustrate how the composer used music to capture the story, action, and mood of such films as Superman, Jaws, Jurassic Park – The Lost World, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and The Patriot to name a few. The rich orchestration and profound presence of William’s film scores have added enormously to many films especially those of Steven Spielberg.

Schools and teachers attending the Youth Concert receive teaching guide packets that incorporate preparation and follow-up educational activities aligned with Illinois State Board of Education Goals and Standards. 

RSO Education Director Lorie Langan comments, “We strive to make these concerts equally educational and entertaining. This is an opportunity the schools simply cannot provide in the classroom. The music and classroom teachers recognize the value of this experience for their students to hear live orchestral music.”

For further information about the “Lights, Camera, Action… and Music” Youth Concert, call RSO Education Director Lorie Langan at (815) 972-2939.

Under the artistic leadership of Music Director Steven Larsen, the Rockford Symphony Orchestra is a leading arts organization in the Rockford Region and the third largest symphony orchestra in the state of Illinois.  The RSO is made up of 85 professional musicians who perform 17 concerts per year—including classics, pops, ballet, and opera—for an estimated annual audience of 30,000.  The RSO was named the 2007 Orchestra of the Year for Illinois.