Pacific Symphony’s SummerFest 2023 Presented By City of Hope Orange County Offers Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark™ Live in Concert
Start the engines, Jock! Pacific Symphony takes audience members to the edge of their seats for the film that gave the world one of its greatest movie heroes—Indiana Jones. Relive the magic on the silver screen with John Williams’ complete score performed live-to-film. Indiana jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark™, features Harrison Ford as the intrepid, renowned archaeologist and expert in the occult. The compelling storyline brings together a profound religious-archaeological icon, the Ark of the Covenant (a tool that can be used to speak to God) and the 20th century’s most infamous criminals, the Nazis. Internationally touring guest conductor Constantine Kitsopoulos joins the Symphony for this special evening.
The action-packed blockbuster takes place Sunday, Aug. 13 at 8 p.m., and marks the second concert of Pacific Symphony’s SummerFest presented by City of Hope Orange County at FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.PacificSymphony.org.
“In creating the character Indiana Jones, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg introduced an enduring and much-loved figure into the pantheon of fictional movie heroes,” says the legendary composer of the movie’s score, John Williams. “Raiders of the Lost Ark™ was illuminated by the superb comedy-action performance of Harrison Ford and enlivened by the spirited direction of Steven Spielberg. Speaking for myself, I must say that the experience of composing the music for this film, and for the subsequent installments in the series, was a very happy one, and offered me a wild and truly joyous ride.
“I’m especially delighted that the magnificent Pacific Symphony has agreed to perform the music in a live presentation of the movie,” continues Williams. “I know I speak for everyone connected with the making of the ‘Raiders’ in saying that we are greatly honored by this event… and I hope that the audience will experience some measure of the joy and fun we did when making the film more than 40 years ago.”
The film’s hair-raising moments are innumerable. Who could possibly forget Indy (Ford) running from the giant boulder in a cave? Or being confronted by a large, hissing cobra? Or brandishing his whip or pistol to take out bad guys and menacing forces? This wildly entertaining film is chock-full of grand spectacle—non-stop action, exotic locales, a hero for the ages, despicable villains, a beautiful love interest, humor, horror, and lots of snakes.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark™ was created by the dream team of Steven Spielberg (director) and George Lucas (co-writer and executive producer)—who essentially invented the box-office blockbuster with 1970s films like Jaws and Star Wars. Yet another huge success, the 1981 Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark™ told the story of Dr. Jones, who is hired by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant, believed to still hold the Ten Commandments. Unfortunately, Hitler’s soldiers are also after it. Indy and his ex-flame, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), escape from various close calls in adventures from Nepal to Egypt on a quest to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis get to it.
Capturing it all with music is legendary film composer and 25x GRAMMY®-winning artist John Williams, whose career spans five decades. He has become one of America’s most accomplished and successful composers for film and concert stage, and remains one of our nation’s most distinguished musical voices. Williams has composed the music for more than 100 films, including all nine Star Wars (Skywalker Saga) films, the first three Harry Potter films, Superman, Memoirs of a Geisha, Home Alone, and The Book Thief. His 40-year artistic partnership with director Steven Spielberg has resulted in many of Hollywood’s most acclaimed and successful films, including Schindler’s List, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jaws, Jurassic Park, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Saving Private Ryan, and Lincoln—in addition to all of the Indiana Jones movies.
Conducting the movie’s score is Maestro Kitsopoulos, who comfortably spans the worlds of opera, symphony, and musical theatre around the globe. Kitsopoulos conducts in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and Royal Albert Hall, and for musical theater, where he can be found leading orchestras on Broadway. His work has taken him all over the world where he has conducted the major orchestras of North America, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Tokyo Philharmonic. In addition to Maestro Kitsopoulos’ engagements as guest conductor, he is Music Director of the Festival of the Arts Boca and General Director of Chatham Opera. He is General Director of the New York Grand Opera and is working with the company to bring opera, free and open to the public, back to New York’s Central Park.
