the mommy avenger

Jurassic Park holds a place in my core memory bank. It was the fifth movie I saw in a theater (after Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin. The first thriller I saw. And the last time I chose to sit near my mother’s long nails during a scary movie. 

Jurassic Park was also the first movie score I purchased with my pocket money. I listened to it on repeat as I went to bed for months. Because of that, I know that soundtrack better than any other. When I learned NJPAC was holding a concert movie experience with a live orchestra, I immediately procured tickets. 

Having been to other movie-orchestra collaborations, I am familiar with the format of playing a movie devoid of the score on the screen while the orchestra plays the background music live. In a film like Jurassic Park, that is a tall order. The music’s themes are so intricately woven into the fabric of the plot and the score critical to the tone of each scene. If you want to see the difference, watch the final scene with the sound off and just the captions, then try it with your eyes closed and the sound on. One falls flat while the latter captures the movie.

How did the New Jersey Symphony handle the challenge of matching the timing, dynamics, and emotion of the piece? Unsurprisingly, quite well. Guest conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos held impeccable control throughout this film with live orchestra. 

A couple times, the symphony was much louder than the actors so the closed captioning was helpful. Otherwise, it blended with the movie in an acoustically impressive experience. Their volume capacity was actually quite impressive to meet the intensity of the scenes on the screen. 

We took the opportunity to meet a symphony member during intermission. She was gracious enough to answer a few questions and offered the information that the members were given the music to learn then had just five hours together to finalize everything!

We strongly recommend that, if a movie you love comes to concert with a professional orchestra or symphony, don’t miss out on such a unique and immersive experience!

We were able to enjoy the experience at Newark’s own NJPAC, but there are still upcoming performances at other New Jersey Venues in conjunction with New Jersey Symphony. Be sure to check them here!

This action-packed adventure pits man against prehistoric predators in the ultimate battle for survival. Featuring visually stunning imagery and groundbreaking special effects, this epic film is sheer movie magic 65 million years in the making.

Now audiences can experience Jurassic Park as never before: projected in HD with a full symphony orchestra performing John Williams’ iconic score live to picture.

Welcome … to Jurassic Park!

The Symphony invites all fans to attend in their favorite dinosaur or Halloween costume. During the concert, please be considerate and make sure the costume does not impede the ability of other patrons to enjoy the performance.

The movie will be presented with subtitles.

© Universal City Studios LLC and Amblin Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are our own*}