Well orchestrated education

Suzie Harrison

With the theme to “Star Wars” filling the room, students filed into

the multipurpose room with barely a whisper between them.

The Top of the World Elementary School students waited attentively

for the Class Act program to begin.

The program was fostered between Orange County Schools and the

Pacific Symphony Orchestra and designed to teach students a variety

of music genres through an entertaining and interactive program.

Last week the subject was John Williams, one of the most popular

composers of music for orchestra in the world. He has written the

music for films such as “Star Wars,” “Harry Potter,” “Saving Private

Ryan,” the “Indiana Jones” trilogy, “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,”

“Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Jaws” and more.

The students were greeted by a Princess Leia look-alike named Lady

Storytell, who took them on their musical journey and timeline of

Williams’ work. She worked in tandem with Pacific Symphony

Orchestra’s violist Caroline Riley who underscored certain points in

the program with her music.

The students enjoyed following along with Lady Storytell mimicking

how they would conduct different pieces such as the music for “Harry

Potter” and “Star Wars.”

“John Williams did something that no composer had done before,”

Lady Storytell said. “He used the entire orchestra to play that

music. That’s what makes the music so powerful.

“John gets a copy of the whole movie with sounds and words and

watches a tiny part, like two minutes,” Lady Storytell said. “Working

on two minutes of music a day, and knowing that Harry Potter has an

hour and a half of music, it would take over two months to write for

the music.”

The students learned that Williams has composed for more than 80

movies, composed the Olympic Anthem, conducts the music he’s written

for movies and conducted the Boston Pops for 13 years.

“I think it was fun and I’ve watched all those movies that he

composed,” Cole Kesler, 9, said. “I think he’s a good composer. My

favorite movie theme is ‘Harry Potter.’”

He said he liked it because it is scary and creepy and he’s

currently reading the first book of the “Harry Potter” series.

Brock Csira, 8, said the fact that he plays the piano gave the

program and the music personal meaning to him. He said Williams

played many instruments but his favorite and first instrument was the

piano.

“‘Harry Potter’ is my favorite soundtrack because it’s exciting

and mysterious,” Brock said. “I learned that John Williams wrote some

of my favorite music for the movies.”

“Harry Potter” was the overwhelming favorite.

“My favorite part was when they played the Harry Potter theme

because it’s like my favorite movie,” Amanda Kimball, 9, said. “The

viola player was really really good, but I learned it’s not easy to

make music.”