This February, the Venice Symphony will present Cinematic Romance, a concert series highlighting some of the most legendary modern cinematic scores to date. The series is a chance for not only the old guard of audience members to come and enjoy the best of what the Venice Symphony has to offer, but also an opportunity for newcomers and film fanatics to be introduced to the world of symphonic music through the lens of film scores. The program will feature music from Casablanca, Romeo and Juliet, and Gone with the Wind, in addition to a guest performance from violinist Sandy Cameron, who will perform Danny Elfman’s Edward Scissorhands Suite, Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso, and the Tango from Scent of a Woman. The program will conclude with the Venice Symphony’s premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. “ We haven’t played Symphonic Dances from West Side Story as an orchestra before. It is glorious music, at the heart of which are these symphonic melodies. While it’s something that is very much within our capabilities, it’s still a difficult undertaking– it requires a big orchestra with lots of percussion and big brass. It requires a lot of force which sometimes causes smaller orchestras to be reluctant to take on a piece of this size and grandeur,” says conductor Troy Quinn, music director of the Venice Orchestra. Quinn’s connection with Hollywood, he’s a member of the conducting faculty of the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, has granted him somewhat of an inside track towards getting both artists and scores that come from the film world. “I happen to have good connections with some of these Hollywood producers, which has allowed me to go straight to them and get the licensing for this music. In some cases, the composers themselves such as Bill Conti and John Williams have given us the original scores,” says Quinn. My relationships with these people have also helped me bring in guest artists like Sandy Cameron.”  

The Venice Symphony, 700 U.S. 41 Bypass N. Suite 4, Venice, thevenicesymphony.org, February 3–4, 2023