By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A classic score of a classic film kicks off the St. Joseph Symphony season Saturday.
The St. Joseph Symphony will perform Frankenstein…It’s Live on Saturday evening at the Missouri Theater.
Symphony Conductor, Chris Kelts, says this performance fits perfectly with the setting.
“The Missouri Theater has been, was, an old movie house at one time,” Kelts tells KFEQmmunity. “So, we are bringing the original Frankenstein movie, from the early 30s, to the Missouri Theater. And we will be playing the soundtrack, the live soundtrack, with live orchestra, which is why we’ve called the concert series Frankenstein, It’s Live.”
Mary Shelley wrote the novel Frankenstein which has spun into a variety of popular cultural takes. The original film didn’t have a musical score. It likely did have a live organ that played during its showing. Kelts will be working off Michael Shapiro’s “Frankenstein: The Move Score,” which was composed for the 1931 classic film starring Boris Karloff.
Kelts says this performance works well with his vision for the St. Joseph Symphony.
“So, when audiences come to the Missouri Theater, I want them to experience live, classical music played by a live orchestra,” Kelts says. “What we’re doing now is we’re giving them a glimpse into actually what it takes to make a film its fullest that it can be.”
Patrons are encouraged to come in costume for a preconcert reception that begins at six o’clock Saturday evening in the Missouri Theater lobby. The Windy Wine Company will provide complimentary wine. The performance begins at 7pm.
Kelts says it’s an appropriate way to begin the new season which features a lot of music, concluding with a special performance next spring.
“And then we close out our season in April with St. Joseph Symphony’s and St. Joseph community’s very own, Tony Glise,” Kelts says. “And Tony is an award winning, international classical guitarist. And he lives half the year in Paris, France and half the year in the United States.”
Kelts says Glise will perform a new composition with the symphony next year.
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