I’ve been in the National Concert Hall more in the past twelve months than I have in the past twelve years. I don’t know why I haven’t gone more but I’ve had particular occasion of late due to some excellent programming. In February, the RTE Concert Orchestra put on an evening of Danny Elfman’s music as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. The Batman theme and Mars Attacks! were particular highlights for me. The use of a theremin really makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
I was back in May to catch Close Encounters: A John Williams Celebration featuring tracks from: Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Superman and lots more. Williams is an absolute legend of modern cinema scores and hearing his music performed live was a highlight of 2012 for me. That brings me to the Concert Orchestra’s next show on the 28th July: Blockbusters: From Avatar to X-Men. It will feature music from Avatar, X-Men, Back to the Future, Independence Day, Star Trek, Titanic, Up and many more. I would highly recommend going and am raging that I can’t myself as I’ll be in Kilkenny for Devious Theatre’s Night of the Living Dead. Tickets are priced from €11 to €38 and are available here. To get you in the mood, here’s their rendition of the Superman theme from the John Williams gig: