Saxbabe

(As you may have noticed I'm going through a bit of an Adams phase)

This is great!! Awesome combo.
 
There is a ton of good swing/latin combo jazz out there, I think much of that would be up your alley.
 
I just listened to the first about 8 minutes so far, but immediately thought of Eddie Daniels, one of my favorite jazz clarinetists, definitely look up his stuff -
 
 
And Paquito d'Rivera -
 
 
Just a couple to start off - I may come add more later  There are SO many great groups!

And apparently the first Brachiosaurus scene was tracked with this:
 
 
Then there's this:
 
 
 
Close Encounters seems to be a direct influence in the Raptor kitchen scene, although we could argue that's more Williams style for writing suspense music
 
 
 
And I'm pretty sure the Backdraft march was a influence in the "mission" theme of Jurassic -it was heavily used in the trailer for both the original movie and the sequel
 
 
 
And for TLW
 
 
 
That's all I can remember right now

Hey guys! I think this:
was temped with this:
 
thoughts?

Oh absolutely. As with all of these gestures, it serves a dual function: one rhetorical/dramaturgic (intensification) and the other formal (a quasi-cadence - like Grey outlined above). What I'm really look at is the etymology of the technique itself. The Debussy excerpt sounds closer to the mark than the Rebel as the notes are held as it ascends the scale.
 
 
From Henry Cowell's New Musical Resources (brilliant book BTW):
 
One way is to play the tones of a cluster in quick succession, holding them as they are played. This is a a cluster of essentially a different kind from one fixed, for although it is possible to regard he movement simply as a means of arriving at a fixed cluster of a larger interval, it is also possible, and specially interesting, to regard the cluster as one of changing size, like an angle who sides are projected to greater length. There are three way of thus spreading a cluster: to begin with the lowest tone and go up; another to begin with the highest tone and go down; and the third to begin with the middle of the cluster and spread it in both directions at once.
 
 
This work is from two decades later, and I think I've posted it before in the classical recommendation thread, but what about Schnittke? The resemblance to what Whitacre and Shore would later write is uncanny. Not just the clusters but confluence of other things--the parallel fourths in the tenors and basses could be straight out of Khazad-dûm, and the austere minor triads bring to mind The End of All Things.
 
 
Not choral, but these two early New Simplicity works from Gorecki and Kilar are worth bringing to the table.
 
 
 

Great performance of Marching Band Kunst & Genoegen from Leiden, The Netherlands at the WMC 2017. 
Thought it would be nice to share it

I love Williams' expression at 1:10, he's like "Wtf have you done!?"
 
It is an incredible arrangement and performance, though.

I love, LOVE this piece!! Got to see her perform it live with MTT/SFSO last fall - incredible (and she wore the same lovely dress!) With phenomenal principal trumpet as well...both soloists and the orchestra have to be really "on" for it to be stellar. Heard it live a few times now with different groups, such a fav of mine.
 
 

A wonderfully inventive work from one of my favorite composers.
 

So sorry to learn that the great David Maslanka has passed away.  To me, his Symphony No. 5 for concert band has always been and remains one of the most amazing symphonic masterpieces ever written.
 
 

Saxbabe's post reminded me of this gem for some reason.  Something about the last movement at 15:02 has some of the excited energy of Foreign Bodies...so many creative ideas bursting through that they interrupt the previous idea demanding attention.  Sort of a manic quality to it that I simply adore when done as well as it is here.  And then such a glorious transcending ending.  I think one of the most glorious and original endings I have ever heard. 
The ending horns are full of these flat sixes which The Rock (Rachmaninoff) used to great effect in his final masterpiece, Symphonic Dances (listen for them at 33:26 but by all means listen to the work in its entirety, such brilliant structure, composition, and orchestration).  Plus as our wonderful JW frequently does, it incorporates the dies irae.  Damn the ruskies were on fire.  Incidentally, the flat six is a staple of sci-fi music and is all over Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.
 

Awesome thread - lot in here I wasn't that familiar with and am really enjoying discovering
 
Any Reich fans here??
 
Been into his Double Sextet lately, found this incredible performance - favorite moment? 18:30 to the end! Those suspensions y'all. Bliss. And the modulation at 19:55 - ahhh...I'm ready to float away like a balloon. Love, love this piece.
 

 
And this - um....YES. Tim, you have great taste One of THE composers of our time (and of course, conductors!) Big favorite of mine, even went to the world premiere of the new Cello Concerto, simply amazing piece.
 
 
Below is the first work of his that really grabbed me, Foreign Bodies - one of my favorite openings EVER along with Adams' Harmonielehre which it calls to mind. Infectious rhythms and wildly colorful orchestration!
 
I would honestly recommend pretty much any of his music...but foremost probably L.A. Variations, Wing on Wing (for the opening of Disney Hall)...also definitely the Violin Concerto, and the Gershwin-esque Piano Concerto for something a bit different and rather filmic.
 

Awesome thread - lot in here I wasn't that familiar with and am really enjoying discovering
 
Any Reich fans here??
 
Been into his Double Sextet lately, found this incredible performance - favorite moment? 18:30 to the end! Those suspensions y'all. Bliss. And the modulation at 19:55 - ahhh...I'm ready to float away like a balloon. Love, love this piece.
 

 
And this - um....YES. Tim, you have great taste One of THE composers of our time (and of course, conductors!) Big favorite of mine, even went to the world premiere of the new Cello Concerto, simply amazing piece.
 
 
Below is the first work of his that really grabbed me, Foreign Bodies - one of my favorite openings EVER along with Adams' Harmonielehre which it calls to mind. Infectious rhythms and wildly colorful orchestration!
 
I would honestly recommend pretty much any of his music...but foremost probably L.A. Variations, Wing on Wing (for the opening of Disney Hall)...also definitely the Violin Concerto, and the Gershwin-esque Piano Concerto for something a bit different and rather filmic.
 

Salonen - Nyx
 
 

Gorgeous piece!
 
And what rich, wonderful colors and textures, even within an essentially monochrome ensemble. 
 
Love Williams in this darkly lyrical, expressive mode.. Also really like the polymodality of the main melodic idea, which stays pretty consistently in a dual state of upper phrygian explorations pitted against a warm D major b13. 
 
The final duet between soloist (in the lower octave) and first violins (in the higher octave) towards the very end is notable for inverting what would have been the conventional sonic distribution between these forces. 
 
The G-string accellerando/tremolo idea is unusual for Williams, as it seems to stem from a kind of "sturm und drang"-abandon. I suspect this is somehow informed by his take on Mutter's personality as a violinist. And it really suits her playing, instantly lending a dramatic flair which adds to the overall gravitas of the piece. 
 
Despite its relative brevity, I think the piece feels complete, and completely satisfying. 

On Saturday, we saw HPSS live with the Houston Symphony (and Chorus)!
 
It was so, SO incredibly good, omg. We truly, thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
 
A few weeks ago, we also saw them do Jurassic Park (for my friend's birthday, with a big group), and we sat far back but in the very middle, really a perfect spot visually and sonically in that hall. And it was absolutely wonderful - in fact I even got all teared up...such memories, then hearing that majestic theme live...it was just overwhelming how, like, utterly thankful I was in that moment for the sheer existence of John Williams and his music.  (Gah, soo sappy. But c'mon I know you've all had the same thoughts!!)
 
This time - we were in the primo seats, about Row 10, off to the left, which was also great, though not necessarily better, just different in the elements that stand out. (Honestly I waited a bit long to get tickets, so the most expensive seats were all that remained!) The orchestra did THREE performances of this one (vs two for Jurassic Park), and apparently all three were sold-out, which bodes extremely well for more of these performances. (Friday night, Sat. afternoon, and Sat. night...brass must've been icing the lips down in-between, jeez!)
 
We went to the Saturday matinee, with I would assume the largest kid attendance, and actually LOVED it! It was totally a giddy atmosphere, with little (and big) witches and wizards excited all over the place in their house colors with wands, so freaking adorable. In addition to the usual drink stations, they even had a special featured station for Butterbeer y'all! (Non-alcoholic though) Sadly we didn't get any Butterbeer though because it was totally mobbed (and we rathered adult beverages anyway), but still, super cool.
 
As others have described, the conductor (lovely Australian chap, Nicholas Buc), did encourage everyone to cheer on their favorite characters, which was fun, it really didn't bother me as I thought it might. Once it all got underway, for the most part everyone including those of tender age were rapt as if "under a spell" (har, har), and listening quite intently, especially during the heaviest-scored sections.
 
One awesome thing I got to see being up-close this time, was the sync system - I was very fascinated with watching it and figuring out how it functioned
 
For anyone who hasn't seen it well yet, I took a zoomed-in clip below as they reach Diagon Alley - you may want to zoom full-screen, here you will see the yellow streamer, and big blinky circle indicating tempo, and in the top right, the counter showing the measure number and beat (ex. 38/1, measure 38, beat 1)
 
The streamer bars come in red, yellow, and green - it appears Yellow indicates "get ready", so right before the beginning of a cue and then right before transitions of tempo/time signature, Green is for the beginning of the cue, and Red is for the end of cue.
 
(For anyone here who actually participates in film scoring etc., please correct me on any parts of that which are wrong!)
 
 
 
 
Couldn't have hoped for a better performance all-around - sometimes I would actually forget to pay attention to the orchestra as they sounded so natural and perfect as the soundtrack!  I was also so very happy the Chorus was there, they sounded marvelous and add so much to the score. The musicians looked to be enjoying themselves immensely, the cutest was on the "Fluffy's Harp" cue, when the harpist flawlessly played her feature solo, and at the end just beamed like "yes, I loved that!" Lots of smiles on players' faces, and of course in their rest periods were also watching the film  
 
I dearly love the JW HP scores, so it was all a dream to hear live, but wow, Quidditch and Wizard Chess were definitely high points!! I've heard these scores so many, many times, and the writing is still just stunning in how richly detailed, complex, and challenging it is, while also seeming to be very idiomatic and just flat out fun to play. Hearing live, I really noticed particularly the involved percussion parts in many cues, so much neat stuff going on that is harder to hear on recording!
 
They did indeed play the full End Credits, and almost everyone stayed - here is a little vid! I have heard the Houston Symphony probably dozens of times, and they were really in tip-top form at both the JW films we attended, sounding as great on this clip as anything I've ever heard from them - style, phrasing, articulation, perfect. The brass were to DIE for here, chills!!
 
 
 
 
 
I think after this doing #2 and #3 are no-brainers...they also did E.T. earlier this year and have done Star Trek etc., these always sell well, many of my friends who don't go to the symphony even went and loved it. Any JWFan here who has a chance to go at all, do it!!

Well it's not definitely bad by any means, but the lack of a main character seems to drag the whole thing down. I understand it's an ensamble piece, and I liked Rylance, Branagh and the pilots with Hardy, but if felt too much like a collection of scenes without any glue to hold them together. Maybe my own expectations betrayed me instead of seeing the film for what it is, so I'm planning to see it again now knowing the whole thing and see if my opinion improves. 
 
My main problem really was the continued ups and downs of the suspense in practically every single scene. Taking the pilot underwater scene and the final scene before the pilot lands felt like cheap shots at an attempt of classic tension building, without any pay-off. Maybe it was the point, but it kept repeating this trick over and over and by the fifth time I was tired of it.... I remember thinking why Saving Private Ryan couldn't have been all in the style of that opening scene and maybe now I see why. At least Dunkirk is more consistent in its own compared to Spielberg's flick, though I'd say both a more or less on the same level.
 
There were some flat-out stupid moments, like when the soldier is swimming under the fire but for some reason he wouldn't swim forward and went straight up into the fire. Maybe I missed something? Maybe he had his feet trapped or something? I don't know... Also, the death of the kid. That felt totally unnecessary. I understand what they were trying to do, particularly with the ending and the newspaper, but still... There were a couple more that I can't recall right now.
 
I liked the manipulation of time, the score worked really nice along with the picture and I really liked the ending, maybe because finally something different was happening on scene -or maybe it was just Branagh, he's always a joy to watch. I would have liked to see him more, along with Rylance they seemed the most likeable. Of course, the film wasn't about liking the characters but I would have liked to be more invested in the whole thing. As an Argentinian watching a British war film is always a liiiiiittle uncomfortable; though uneven it's still a good movie, and I think time will make me appreciate it more.... Who knows.

Damn you Dunkirk, I've been on a British kick lately because of you.  Here is Bax with a very French/Ravelian fragrance. Ravel was very influential to early twentieth century British composers and this is very evident in Vaughan Williams (who studied with Ravel) and Bax who along with Stravinsky, seems enamored with the French.  Both these poems presented below have much in common with Stravinsky's Firebird (deeply indebted to Russian nationalism and French exoticism via Debussy) and Ravel (mostly his masterpiece, Daphnis et Chloe) along with Debussy's seminal La Mer.
 

On Saturday, we saw HPSS live with the Houston Symphony (and Chorus)!
 
It was so, SO incredibly good, omg. We truly, thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
 
A few weeks ago, we also saw them do Jurassic Park (for my friend's birthday, with a big group), and we sat far back but in the very middle, really a perfect spot visually and sonically in that hall. And it was absolutely wonderful - in fact I even got all teared up...such memories, then hearing that majestic theme live...it was just overwhelming how, like, utterly thankful I was in that moment for the sheer existence of John Williams and his music.  (Gah, soo sappy. But c'mon I know you've all had the same thoughts!!)
 
This time - we were in the primo seats, about Row 10, off to the left, which was also great, though not necessarily better, just different in the elements that stand out. (Honestly I waited a bit long to get tickets, so the most expensive seats were all that remained!) The orchestra did THREE performances of this one (vs two for Jurassic Park), and apparently all three were sold-out, which bodes extremely well for more of these performances. (Friday night, Sat. afternoon, and Sat. night...brass must've been icing the lips down in-between, jeez!)
 
We went to the Saturday matinee, with I would assume the largest kid attendance, and actually LOVED it! It was totally a giddy atmosphere, with little (and big) witches and wizards excited all over the place in their house colors with wands, so freaking adorable. In addition to the usual drink stations, they even had a special featured station for Butterbeer y'all! (Non-alcoholic though) Sadly we didn't get any Butterbeer though because it was totally mobbed (and we rathered adult beverages anyway), but still, super cool.
 
As others have described, the conductor (lovely Australian chap, Nicholas Buc), did encourage everyone to cheer on their favorite characters, which was fun, it really didn't bother me as I thought it might. Once it all got underway, for the most part everyone including those of tender age were rapt as if "under a spell" (har, har), and listening quite intently, especially during the heaviest-scored sections.
 
One awesome thing I got to see being up-close this time, was the sync system - I was very fascinated with watching it and figuring out how it functioned
 
For anyone who hasn't seen it well yet, I took a zoomed-in clip below as they reach Diagon Alley - you may want to zoom full-screen, here you will see the yellow streamer, and big blinky circle indicating tempo, and in the top right, the counter showing the measure number and beat (ex. 38/1, measure 38, beat 1)
 
The streamer bars come in red, yellow, and green - it appears Yellow indicates "get ready", so right before the beginning of a cue and then right before transitions of tempo/time signature, Green is for the beginning of the cue, and Red is for the end of cue.
 
(For anyone here who actually participates in film scoring etc., please correct me on any parts of that which are wrong!)
 
 
 
 
Couldn't have hoped for a better performance all-around - sometimes I would actually forget to pay attention to the orchestra as they sounded so natural and perfect as the soundtrack!  I was also so very happy the Chorus was there, they sounded marvelous and add so much to the score. The musicians looked to be enjoying themselves immensely, the cutest was on the "Fluffy's Harp" cue, when the harpist flawlessly played her feature solo, and at the end just beamed like "yes, I loved that!" Lots of smiles on players' faces, and of course in their rest periods were also watching the film  
 
I dearly love the JW HP scores, so it was all a dream to hear live, but wow, Quidditch and Wizard Chess were definitely high points!! I've heard these scores so many, many times, and the writing is still just stunning in how richly detailed, complex, and challenging it is, while also seeming to be very idiomatic and just flat out fun to play. Hearing live, I really noticed particularly the involved percussion parts in many cues, so much neat stuff going on that is harder to hear on recording!
 
They did indeed play the full End Credits, and almost everyone stayed - here is a little vid! I have heard the Houston Symphony probably dozens of times, and they were really in tip-top form at both the JW films we attended, sounding as great on this clip as anything I've ever heard from them - style, phrasing, articulation, perfect. The brass were to DIE for here, chills!!
 
 
 
 
 
I think after this doing #2 and #3 are no-brainers...they also did E.T. earlier this year and have done Star Trek etc., these always sell well, many of my friends who don't go to the symphony even went and loved it. Any JWFan here who has a chance to go at all, do it!!

On Saturday, we saw HPSS live with the Houston Symphony (and Chorus)!
 
It was so, SO incredibly good, omg. We truly, thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
 
A few weeks ago, we also saw them do Jurassic Park (for my friend's birthday, with a big group), and we sat far back but in the very middle, really a perfect spot visually and sonically in that hall. And it was absolutely wonderful - in fact I even got all teared up...such memories, then hearing that majestic theme live...it was just overwhelming how, like, utterly thankful I was in that moment for the sheer existence of John Williams and his music.  (Gah, soo sappy. But c'mon I know you've all had the same thoughts!!)
 
This time - we were in the primo seats, about Row 10, off to the left, which was also great, though not necessarily better, just different in the elements that stand out. (Honestly I waited a bit long to get tickets, so the most expensive seats were all that remained!) The orchestra did THREE performances of this one (vs two for Jurassic Park), and apparently all three were sold-out, which bodes extremely well for more of these performances. (Friday night, Sat. afternoon, and Sat. night...brass must've been icing the lips down in-between, jeez!)
 
We went to the Saturday matinee, with I would assume the largest kid attendance, and actually LOVED it! It was totally a giddy atmosphere, with little (and big) witches and wizards excited all over the place in their house colors with wands, so freaking adorable. In addition to the usual drink stations, they even had a special featured station for Butterbeer y'all! (Non-alcoholic though) Sadly we didn't get any Butterbeer though because it was totally mobbed (and we rathered adult beverages anyway), but still, super cool.
 
As others have described, the conductor (lovely Australian chap, Nicholas Buc), did encourage everyone to cheer on their favorite characters, which was fun, it really didn't bother me as I thought it might. Once it all got underway, for the most part everyone including those of tender age were rapt as if "under a spell" (har, har), and listening quite intently, especially during the heaviest-scored sections.
 
One awesome thing I got to see being up-close this time, was the sync system - I was very fascinated with watching it and figuring out how it functioned
 
For anyone who hasn't seen it well yet, I took a zoomed-in clip below as they reach Diagon Alley - you may want to zoom full-screen, here you will see the yellow streamer, and big blinky circle indicating tempo, and in the top right, the counter showing the measure number and beat (ex. 38/1, measure 38, beat 1)
 
The streamer bars come in red, yellow, and green - it appears Yellow indicates "get ready", so right before the beginning of a cue and then right before transitions of tempo/time signature, Green is for the beginning of the cue, and Red is for the end of cue.
 
(For anyone here who actually participates in film scoring etc., please correct me on any parts of that which are wrong!)
 
 
 
 
Couldn't have hoped for a better performance all-around - sometimes I would actually forget to pay attention to the orchestra as they sounded so natural and perfect as the soundtrack!  I was also so very happy the Chorus was there, they sounded marvelous and add so much to the score. The musicians looked to be enjoying themselves immensely, the cutest was on the "Fluffy's Harp" cue, when the harpist flawlessly played her feature solo, and at the end just beamed like "yes, I loved that!" Lots of smiles on players' faces, and of course in their rest periods were also watching the film  
 
I dearly love the JW HP scores, so it was all a dream to hear live, but wow, Quidditch and Wizard Chess were definitely high points!! I've heard these scores so many, many times, and the writing is still just stunning in how richly detailed, complex, and challenging it is, while also seeming to be very idiomatic and just flat out fun to play. Hearing live, I really noticed particularly the involved percussion parts in many cues, so much neat stuff going on that is harder to hear on recording!
 
They did indeed play the full End Credits, and almost everyone stayed - here is a little vid! I have heard the Houston Symphony probably dozens of times, and they were really in tip-top form at both the JW films we attended, sounding as great on this clip as anything I've ever heard from them - style, phrasing, articulation, perfect. The brass were to DIE for here, chills!!
 
 
 
 
 
I think after this doing #2 and #3 are no-brainers...they also did E.T. earlier this year and have done Star Trek etc., these always sell well, many of my friends who don't go to the symphony even went and loved it. Any JWFan here who has a chance to go at all, do it!!

On Saturday, we saw HPSS live with the Houston Symphony (and Chorus)!
 
It was so, SO incredibly good, omg. We truly, thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
 
A few weeks ago, we also saw them do Jurassic Park (for my friend's birthday, with a big group), and we sat far back but in the very middle, really a perfect spot visually and sonically in that hall. And it was absolutely wonderful - in fact I even got all teared up...such memories, then hearing that majestic theme live...it was just overwhelming how, like, utterly thankful I was in that moment for the sheer existence of John Williams and his music.  (Gah, soo sappy. But c'mon I know you've all had the same thoughts!!)
 
This time - we were in the primo seats, about Row 10, off to the left, which was also great, though not necessarily better, just different in the elements that stand out. (Honestly I waited a bit long to get tickets, so the most expensive seats were all that remained!) The orchestra did THREE performances of this one (vs two for Jurassic Park), and apparently all three were sold-out, which bodes extremely well for more of these performances. (Friday night, Sat. afternoon, and Sat. night...brass must've been icing the lips down in-between, jeez!)
 
We went to the Saturday matinee, with I would assume the largest kid attendance, and actually LOVED it! It was totally a giddy atmosphere, with little (and big) witches and wizards excited all over the place in their house colors with wands, so freaking adorable. In addition to the usual drink stations, they even had a special featured station for Butterbeer y'all! (Non-alcoholic though) Sadly we didn't get any Butterbeer though because it was totally mobbed (and we rathered adult beverages anyway), but still, super cool.
 
As others have described, the conductor (lovely Australian chap, Nicholas Buc), did encourage everyone to cheer on their favorite characters, which was fun, it really didn't bother me as I thought it might. Once it all got underway, for the most part everyone including those of tender age were rapt as if "under a spell" (har, har), and listening quite intently, especially during the heaviest-scored sections.
 
One awesome thing I got to see being up-close this time, was the sync system - I was very fascinated with watching it and figuring out how it functioned
 
For anyone who hasn't seen it well yet, I took a zoomed-in clip below as they reach Diagon Alley - you may want to zoom full-screen, here you will see the yellow streamer, and big blinky circle indicating tempo, and in the top right, the counter showing the measure number and beat (ex. 38/1, measure 38, beat 1)
 
The streamer bars come in red, yellow, and green - it appears Yellow indicates "get ready", so right before the beginning of a cue and then right before transitions of tempo/time signature, Green is for the beginning of the cue, and Red is for the end of cue.
 
(For anyone here who actually participates in film scoring etc., please correct me on any parts of that which are wrong!)
 
 
 
 
Couldn't have hoped for a better performance all-around - sometimes I would actually forget to pay attention to the orchestra as they sounded so natural and perfect as the soundtrack!  I was also so very happy the Chorus was there, they sounded marvelous and add so much to the score. The musicians looked to be enjoying themselves immensely, the cutest was on the "Fluffy's Harp" cue, when the harpist flawlessly played her feature solo, and at the end just beamed like "yes, I loved that!" Lots of smiles on players' faces, and of course in their rest periods were also watching the film  
 
I dearly love the JW HP scores, so it was all a dream to hear live, but wow, Quidditch and Wizard Chess were definitely high points!! I've heard these scores so many, many times, and the writing is still just stunning in how richly detailed, complex, and challenging it is, while also seeming to be very idiomatic and just flat out fun to play. Hearing live, I really noticed particularly the involved percussion parts in many cues, so much neat stuff going on that is harder to hear on recording!
 
They did indeed play the full End Credits, and almost everyone stayed - here is a little vid! I have heard the Houston Symphony probably dozens of times, and they were really in tip-top form at both the JW films we attended, sounding as great on this clip as anything I've ever heard from them - style, phrasing, articulation, perfect. The brass were to DIE for here, chills!!
 
 
 
 
 
I think after this doing #2 and #3 are no-brainers...they also did E.T. earlier this year and have done Star Trek etc., these always sell well, many of my friends who don't go to the symphony even went and loved it. Any JWFan here who has a chance to go at all, do it!!

On Saturday, we saw HPSS live with the Houston Symphony (and Chorus)!
 
It was so, SO incredibly good, omg. We truly, thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
 
A few weeks ago, we also saw them do Jurassic Park (for my friend's birthday, with a big group), and we sat far back but in the very middle, really a perfect spot visually and sonically in that hall. And it was absolutely wonderful - in fact I even got all teared up...such memories, then hearing that majestic theme live...it was just overwhelming how, like, utterly thankful I was in that moment for the sheer existence of John Williams and his music.  (Gah, soo sappy. But c'mon I know you've all had the same thoughts!!)
 
This time - we were in the primo seats, about Row 10, off to the left, which was also great, though not necessarily better, just different in the elements that stand out. (Honestly I waited a bit long to get tickets, so the most expensive seats were all that remained!) The orchestra did THREE performances of this one (vs two for Jurassic Park), and apparently all three were sold-out, which bodes extremely well for more of these performances. (Friday night, Sat. afternoon, and Sat. night...brass must've been icing the lips down in-between, jeez!)
 
We went to the Saturday matinee, with I would assume the largest kid attendance, and actually LOVED it! It was totally a giddy atmosphere, with little (and big) witches and wizards excited all over the place in their house colors with wands, so freaking adorable. In addition to the usual drink stations, they even had a special featured station for Butterbeer y'all! (Non-alcoholic though) Sadly we didn't get any Butterbeer though because it was totally mobbed (and we rathered adult beverages anyway), but still, super cool.
 
As others have described, the conductor (lovely Australian chap, Nicholas Buc), did encourage everyone to cheer on their favorite characters, which was fun, it really didn't bother me as I thought it might. Once it all got underway, for the most part everyone including those of tender age were rapt as if "under a spell" (har, har), and listening quite intently, especially during the heaviest-scored sections.
 
One awesome thing I got to see being up-close this time, was the sync system - I was very fascinated with watching it and figuring out how it functioned
 
For anyone who hasn't seen it well yet, I took a zoomed-in clip below as they reach Diagon Alley - you may want to zoom full-screen, here you will see the yellow streamer, and big blinky circle indicating tempo, and in the top right, the counter showing the measure number and beat (ex. 38/1, measure 38, beat 1)
 
The streamer bars come in red, yellow, and green - it appears Yellow indicates "get ready", so right before the beginning of a cue and then right before transitions of tempo/time signature, Green is for the beginning of the cue, and Red is for the end of cue.
 
(For anyone here who actually participates in film scoring etc., please correct me on any parts of that which are wrong!)
 
 
 
 
Couldn't have hoped for a better performance all-around - sometimes I would actually forget to pay attention to the orchestra as they sounded so natural and perfect as the soundtrack!  I was also so very happy the Chorus was there, they sounded marvelous and add so much to the score. The musicians looked to be enjoying themselves immensely, the cutest was on the "Fluffy's Harp" cue, when the harpist flawlessly played her feature solo, and at the end just beamed like "yes, I loved that!" Lots of smiles on players' faces, and of course in their rest periods were also watching the film  
 
I dearly love the JW HP scores, so it was all a dream to hear live, but wow, Quidditch and Wizard Chess were definitely high points!! I've heard these scores so many, many times, and the writing is still just stunning in how richly detailed, complex, and challenging it is, while also seeming to be very idiomatic and just flat out fun to play. Hearing live, I really noticed particularly the involved percussion parts in many cues, so much neat stuff going on that is harder to hear on recording!
 
They did indeed play the full End Credits, and almost everyone stayed - here is a little vid! I have heard the Houston Symphony probably dozens of times, and they were really in tip-top form at both the JW films we attended, sounding as great on this clip as anything I've ever heard from them - style, phrasing, articulation, perfect. The brass were to DIE for here, chills!!
 
 
 
 
 
I think after this doing #2 and #3 are no-brainers...they also did E.T. earlier this year and have done Star Trek etc., these always sell well, many of my friends who don't go to the symphony even went and loved it. Any JWFan here who has a chance to go at all, do it!!

Mike - wow, great writing, love these pieces!! Will second what Karelm said, and add that yes the wind ensemble world is definitely it's own "thing", and it's kind of a big small world, if that makes sense
 
Having grown up in Texas bands I am a bit biased, but honestly our state has always been a hotbed of wind ensemble activity - here a few ideas that come to mind which may be helpful -
 
University Wind Ensembles - you may want to send tapes/scores out to many universities for consideration, to become a regular composer on that circuit is certainly a win (if they like your music who knows they may even commission a piece someday)
Most noted in TX: UNT (Univ of North Texas), UT Austin, U of H (Univ of Houston), Baylor, and many more - most of the college top ensembles are pretty stellar, even at mid-size schools. Definitely seek out CDs of all the above! Many recordings out there including the best of both old and new wind music, certainly of the composers listed above in thread.
 
UIL PML (Prescribed Music List) - Do you want to have your music played by high schools? For contest? If that interests you, either for concert band (or for adaptation to the marching field) then you want to try to get on this list: https://www.uiltexas.org/pml-submissions/overview  The best high school bands are mindblowingly good these days and can absolutely play higher-level music, so don't worry too much about difficulty...I think your pieces could work well!
(I believe other states also have similar governing music bodies for contest music, but it varies state by state)
 
Professional groups - There aren't a ton of professional wind ensembles, but the Dallas Wind Symphony is a big one to know about, any of their CDs are awesome, and definitely any/all of the military branches' bands, they also record all the best new/classic wind ensemble music (Air Force Band, Marine Band "President's Own", Navy Band, West Point Band etc)
 
Conferences! - This is a big one if you want to forge relationships and get to hear these groups/meet directors in person, most every state has a state Music Educator conference yearly, here it's TMEA and it's always in February in San Antonio. GO. It's amazing. 
Go to Midwest - https://www.midwestclinic.org/ 
Go to CBDNA - http://www.cbdna.org/
 
Composers - Soooo many good ones! Many mentioned already. Definitely John Mackey! Boomba reminds me a little of Michael Daugherty, he has a ton of great wind ensemble pieces as well as his orchestra stuff. Frank Ticheli. Eric Whitacre. John Corigliano. Karel Husa....and so many other masters.
 
And speaking of this topic, I was just surfing and happened upon this gorgeous vid of Chris Martin and the UT Wind Ensemble -
 

 
Good luck Mike! Your pieces are excellent - I know I would love to play them!

Mike - wow, great writing, love these pieces!! Will second what Karelm said, and add that yes the wind ensemble world is definitely it's own "thing", and it's kind of a big small world, if that makes sense
 
Having grown up in Texas bands I am a bit biased, but honestly our state has always been a hotbed of wind ensemble activity - here a few ideas that come to mind which may be helpful -
 
University Wind Ensembles - you may want to send tapes/scores out to many universities for consideration, to become a regular composer on that circuit is certainly a win (if they like your music who knows they may even commission a piece someday)
Most noted in TX: UNT (Univ of North Texas), UT Austin, U of H (Univ of Houston), Baylor, and many more - most of the college top ensembles are pretty stellar, even at mid-size schools. Definitely seek out CDs of all the above! Many recordings out there including the best of both old and new wind music, certainly of the composers listed above in thread.
 
UIL PML (Prescribed Music List) - Do you want to have your music played by high schools? For contest? If that interests you, either for concert band (or for adaptation to the marching field) then you want to try to get on this list: https://www.uiltexas.org/pml-submissions/overview  The best high school bands are mindblowingly good these days and can absolutely play higher-level music, so don't worry too much about difficulty...I think your pieces could work well!
(I believe other states also have similar governing music bodies for contest music, but it varies state by state)
 
Professional groups - There aren't a ton of professional wind ensembles, but the Dallas Wind Symphony is a big one to know about, any of their CDs are awesome, and definitely any/all of the military branches' bands, they also record all the best new/classic wind ensemble music (Air Force Band, Marine Band "President's Own", Navy Band, West Point Band etc)
 
Conferences! - This is a big one if you want to forge relationships and get to hear these groups/meet directors in person, most every state has a state Music Educator conference yearly, here it's TMEA and it's always in February in San Antonio. GO. It's amazing. 
Go to Midwest - https://www.midwestclinic.org/ 
Go to CBDNA - http://www.cbdna.org/
 
Composers - Soooo many good ones! Many mentioned already. Definitely John Mackey! Boomba reminds me a little of Michael Daugherty, he has a ton of great wind ensemble pieces as well as his orchestra stuff. Frank Ticheli. Eric Whitacre. John Corigliano. Karel Husa....and so many other masters.
 
And speaking of this topic, I was just surfing and happened upon this gorgeous vid of Chris Martin and the UT Wind Ensemble -
 

 
Good luck Mike! Your pieces are excellent - I know I would love to play them!