‘King Kong’ Soundscape Comes to Life in BYU Philharmonic’s First Movie in Concert

The performance will give the Philharmonic musicians a unique opportunity to learn professional industry techniques for film scoring and studio recording

The BYU Philharmonic will present the School of Music’s first movie in concert with “King Kong Live!” on Nov. 2. Under the direction of Kory Katseanes, the orchestra will perform Max Steiner’s full score while the classic 1933 creature feature plays on the big screen.

“These days orchestras all over the county — all around the world — are doing cinema series,” said Katseanes. “This is the first time we’ve done an event like this and the first time this score has ever been performed live. It’s complicated and difficult, but it’s been a grand adventure.” 

The performance is the culmination of an ambitious undertaking by music theory professor Brent Yorgason — working in conjunction with BYU faculty, staff and students as well as industry professionals in Los Angeles and New York — to transcribe and prepare the newly-reconstructed “King Kong” score for a live screening.

One of the more technical elements of these preparations was the creation of click tracks, or the audio cues that keep an ensemble in sync with the action on the screen. These click tracks will play in each Philharmonic musician’s headphones throughout the duration of the film, giving the student performers an entirely new onstage experience from what they might expect in a more conventional School of Music concert. 

“This is how film scoring and studio recording are done now,” said Katseanes. “I’m excited for our students to experience playing with a click track; it’s a professional skill that will help them get jobs in recording studios. Beyond that, a live score performance like this is different from a studio in the sense that we can’t keep reworking things until we get it exactly right — we have to keep moving no matter what. It’s a good exercise in pushing ahead and always moving forward to the next click.”  

While the Philharmonic musicians have embraced professional-grade techniques and technology, the behind-the-scenes preparation and research for the concert has also given Katseanes a deeper appreciation for Steiner’s original work on “King Kong” — composed before many of the developments that are now standard practice in film music.

“Max Steiner did it all by hand. He didn’t use click tracks — though he was a pioneer of the technique later on,” explained Katseanes. “He would watch the film and manually match the music to the action. He ultimately proved that a great score becomes inseparable from a film and the overall enjoyment of the audience.”

Katseanes, Yorgason and the other musicians and scholars who have worked on the project are honored by BYU’s distinction as the first institution — educational or professional — to perform Steiner’s beloved “King Kong” score live for an audience since its reconstruction by film composer John Morgan.

“The music itself is a landmark score; it was groundbreaking,” said Katseanes. “By far the biggest movie score that had ever been written up to that point, and it’s still just as gigantic. Most movies don’t approach this kind of complexity even still. I hope audiences will find themselves immersed in the amazing soundscape that Max Steiner created.” 

Tickets and Show Details

Performance Dates and Times: Nov. 2 | 7:30 p.m.

Location: de Jong Concert Hall

Price: $6-11

Tickets: Available in person at the BYU HFAC or Marriott Center Ticket Office, by phone at (801) 422-2981 or online at byuarts.com