In celebration of the Sundance Film Festival’s upcoming move to Boulder, the Boulder Symphony presents a live orchestral concert featuring music from iconic Sundance films, performed alongside projected scenes from the movies. The program highlights scores from Manchester by the Sea, Minari, Us, Hereditary, and Reservoir Dogs, brought to life by a 50-piece orchestra.
Artistic Director Devin Patrick Hughes conceived the concert immediately following the Sundance announcement, viewing it as a rare opportunity for audiences and arts organizations to engage with independent film music in a concert setting. The program showcases composers Lesley Barber, Emile Mosseri, Colin Stetson, Nainita Desai, and Michael Abels, with Mosseri joining the orchestra live at the piano for selections from Minari.
Unlike traditional blockbuster film concerts, this program explores the experimental, risk-taking nature of independent film scores—music that often embraces dissonance, texture, and aleatoric elements to serve powerful storytelling. The concert also includes classical works by Handel and Albinoni featured in Manchester by the Sea, as well as iconic songs from Reservoir Dogs.
By placing the music front and center in the concert hall, the performance invites audiences to experience film scores not as background, but as expressive, standalone works. Following the concert, composers Lesley Barber and Emile Mosseri participate in a talk-back session, offering insights into the art and craft of film scoring.
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