Dallas Chamber Symphony kicks off its fifth season Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 8 p.m. with a world premiere of a new score by film composer Joe Kraemer. The live performance will take place during a screening of F.W. Murnau’s silent film SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS at Dallas City Performance Hall, located at 2520 Flora St.
“We are so excited to be celebrating the start of our fifth season with Joe Kraemer, who has written a powerful new score for SUNRISE,” said Richard McKay, founder, conductor and artistic director of the Dallas Chamber Symphony.
Kraemer has written music for more than 100 TV movies and episodes, shorts, and feature-length films, such as JACK REACHER and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE ROGUE NATION. He is based in Los Angeles and will attend the Oct. 18 premiere and related events.
The film SUNRISE is a romantic drama released at the end of the silent era. It is notable for including a synchronized track of sound effects set to picture. It has been selected for preservation by the National Film Registry of the United States Library of Congress, and it received the Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Picture at the first Academy Awards in 1929. In addition, Janet Gaynor won the first Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in it.
The program is a collaboration with Dallas VideoFest, the nation’s oldest and largest video festival, and it is made possible in part by a grant from The Dallas Foundation.
“We are thrilled that our grant from the Adoue Fund to Dallas Chamber Symphony will expand access to the performance and screening of SUNRISE, including to audiences who might not otherwise be able to experience the creativity of a new score set to such an important silent film,” Mary Jalonick, The Dallas Foundation president and CEO, stated in a press release.
McKay adds, “It is especially rewarding to be sharing this performance with so many new concertgoers -- both in the concert hall and outside at Klyde Warren Park, through our first-ever simulcast, thanks to The Dallas Foundation.”
The Dallas Chamber Symphony is comprised of 40 musicians, all dedicated to a balance of programs that include unperformed and standard chamber repertory, contemporary music, staged works, and pieces with extra musical elements, such as film and dance. Tickets for the premiere are $19-$49 each, and discounts are available for students and seniors. On the web: www.dcsymphony.org.