The Adrian Symphony Orchestra in a recent performance.
“Name some especially well-known movie music from the last half-century, and there’s a pretty good chance it was written by John Williams,” writes Arlene Bachanov in Monday’s (2/14) Daily Telegram (Adrian, MI). “His music for the ‘Star Wars’ franchise is the focus of this year’s Adrian Symphony Orchestra pops concert … Feb. 18…. Audience members are invited to dress up as their favorite ‘Star Wars’ characters and participate in a costume contest during the concert…. The ASO decided years ago to make its February concert each year a family-oriented pops performance, and ‘it’s really paid off,’ said Music Director Bruce Anthony Kiesling. ‘It’s grown year over year.’ … Kiesling wanted to present a sampling of music from all three of the ‘Star Wars’ trilogies plus some of the other films in the canon…. Friday’s performance also includes a sprinkling of music from … Williams-scored films [including] ‘E.T.’ … and some ‘Indiana Jones’ music…. Audience members will even learn a little about the connections between some of Williams’ themes and the classical-music world. Kiesling and the ASO, for example, will present a snippet of Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2 to illustrate its influence on Williams’ score for ‘E.T.’ ”
