Symphony rides ‘Polar Express’
This weekend’s Spokane Symphony Holiday Pops concerts will feature a first: a world orchestral premiere of a major motion picture score.
Alan Silvestri’s “Polar Express Suite” will make its live debut, courtesy of the symphony and music director Eckart Preu.
The suite is a compilation of themes from “The Polar Express,” a film that debuted a few weeks ago and is still pulling in holiday crowds at the multiplexes. Silvestri is a renowned film composer who also wrote the music for “Forrest Gump” and “Cast Away” among many others.
“We can’t even say it’s hot off the press, because the score hasn’t even been printed yet,” said Preu. “Usually it’s impossible to get these things until years later.
“But I happen to know the person who orchestrated it. My score is hand-printed.”
Another first: This will be Preu’s first Holiday Pops concerts in Spokane.
He has programmed some music from Germany, which makes perfect holiday sense for two reasons.
First, Preu is a native of Germany.
“One of the pieces we will be doing is ‘Quempas,’ a medieval round and very important part of German culture,” said Preu. “I was in the Dresden Boy’s Choir, and we sang that every year. It’s very much a part of what I feel Christmas is about.”
Second, many of America’s Christmas songs originated in the German-speaking countries – “Silent Night” to name just one. So audiences will hear “Stille Nacht” in its original language.
As usual, the Holiday Pops productions will be a gloriously labor-intensive effort.
Besides the full 67-piece orchestra, the concerts will also feature the 100-plus singers of the Spokane Symphony Chorale and 38 singers in the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus.
The Chorale, under the direction of Lori Wiest, will sing “Let it Snow,” as well as “Stille Nacht” and “Quempas” along with the Children’s Chorus.
The Children’s Chorus, directed by Kristina Ploeger, will also sing “That First Christmas of All” and “Kling Gloeckchen Kling.”
Other pieces on the program include Waldteufel’s “Skater’s Waltz,” John Williams’ music to “Home Alone,” Hague’s “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and Gabrieli’s Canzon septimi toni No. 2.
No Holiday Pops concert would be complete without the audience carol sing-along, your chance to sing with a few thousand fellow audience members.
The traditional “guest conductor” – a guy in a red suit and white beard – might also show up.