Summary

Miami University Symphony Orchestra will be celebrating its 120th anniversary season with a concert featuring music from famous movies, in an audiovisual performance that combines the movie soundtracks with video excerpts. This concert provides the perfect opportunity for audiences to come together and celebrate the holiday season.

A highlight of the concert will be the preview of the composition Defiance, by Martin Hebel. According to the composer, this composition celebrates the values of diversity and inclusion to which the world’s interconnected societies aspire. Hebel dedicated this composition to the Miami University Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Ricardo Averbach, an IFSAM member, who commissioned it in honor of the orchestra's 120th anniversary.

The concert will open with Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite followed by the music from movies such as Polar Express, Slumdog Millionaire and Cinema Paradiso. The soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire was written by the Oscar and Grammy award winning composer AR Rahman, who received an honorary doctoral degree from Miami University.

The Oxford community will have the chance to experience the Miami University Symphony Orchestra live before their performance in February at the National Conference of the College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) in Nashville. The MU ensemble, chosen through a competitive audition process, is one of the two college orchestras selected to be showcased at this esteemed conference.