Symphony highlights musical wizardry in ‘Harry Potter’ film
Columbus Symphony principal trumpet player George Goad boasts an impressive resume.
As a student, the musician earned degrees from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and Rice University in Houston. Last year, at age 24, he won a spot with the symphony.
At heart, however, Goad is just another Harry Potter fan.
The native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was a fourth-grader when he encountered author J.K. Rowling’s best-selling series of books centered around a boy who proves gifted in the realm of wizardry.
“Me and one other kid in the class just began racing each other to see who could read each book quickest,” said Goad, now 25.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Columbus Symphony will be featured in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Concert.” As the film adaptation of the first book in the series is shown in the Ohio Theatre, the symphony will perform the score by John Williams.
The performances are produced by CineConcerts, a Los Angeles company which presents classic films — including “The Godfather” and “It’s a Wonderful Life” — with orchestral accompaniment. John Jesensky of CineConcerts will conduct.
The “Harry Potter” program made its debut in June 2016 with the Philadelphia Orchestra before setting off on an international tour.
Company co-founder and president Justin Freer said that audiences walk away with a renewed appreciation for the music.
“I’ve met people who have seen ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ dozens and dozens of times,” Freer said.
“They all say generally the same thing: ‘Wow, we never realized how powerful this music really is to the picture.’ That speaks to not only the craft of film music but, of course, to the brilliance of John Williams.”
Freer said the score represents about 140 minutes of music during the course of the movie’s 152 minutes.
“It’s almost wall-to-wall music,” said Freer — though certain passages stand out.
“One of the things that sticks out for fans wherever we go is, of course, ‘The Quidditch Match’ — that’s a tour-de-force, fantastic piece of music,” Freer said. “But there also is some very dark and intimate music in this film, as well. … Leaving Hogwarts at the end of the film is so emotional.”
As for Goad, he has never outgrown his passion for Potter.
While studying for his master’s degree at Rice University, the musician participated in a costume contest on Halloween.
“I got a nice Harry Potter gown and a wand,” Goad said. “My (Harry Potter) glasses. I drew a scar on my head. And I had a bluetooth Bose speaker that I stuck in the hood, so when I would walk around campus, I would play the music from the movie.”