28 June 27 • 2019
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SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
DSO Takes On Jaws
Guest conductor will keep the orchestra and fi
lm synchronized.
A
new movie-going trend is drawing audienc-
es into symphony halls.
Instead of hearing recorded background
music to accentuate film plotlines, these audiences
are hearing full concert orchestras perform live
renditions of the scores as stories unfold on film
screens.
Sophisticated technology has allowed for the
removal of music soundtracks so live instrumental-
ists can elevate immediate sound experiences while
dialogue goes along as usual.
The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is
joining the trend
under the lead-
ership of Joshua
Gersen, a guest
conductor who has
worked with clas-
sical musicians in
different cities to
bring this format
to a range of cinema favorites.
The choice for the Motor City event is Jaws,
an acclaimed summertime thriller about a resort
town terrorized by a shark. The Steven Spielberg
production features a John Williams score, which
won an Academy Award and was chosen the sixth
greatest score by the American Film
Institute.
The Jaws in Concert program will
start at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July
10, in Orchestra Hall as the music
further dramatizes the acting team-
work of Roy Scheider as the town’
s
police chief, Richard Dreyfuss as a
marine biologist and Robert Shaw as
a professional shark hunter intent on
removing danger in the water.
“It’
s up to the orchestra to stay syn-
chronized with the film,” says Gersen, who worked
with the DSO last summer in presenting a series of
concerts with music selections by American com-
posers, some represented by films but without the
projections.
“It’
s very challenging, but I have a screen in front
of me to make sure we stay in the right spot. I did
Jaws once before in San Francisco, and I’
ve also
done Star Wars, Fantasia, Breakfast at Tiffany’
s and
Vertigo.
“With these programs, I get a video that has all
the [production] symbols, and I have to practice
going through that. It gets me ready to keep the
orchestra in time with the film. I think there’
s
something additional that people feel when they’
re
hearing live music. It’
s more inspiring.”
Gersen, whose interest in becoming a con-
ductor started before any instrumental interest,
has presented workshops and music clinics for
Michigan high school students. The instructional
programming, arranged through the University of
Michigan, was presented by members of the New
York Philharmonic, where he recently finished a
term as assistant conductor.
“I have loved and studied the orchestral rep-
ertoire all my life,” says Gersen, 35, who is based
in New York. “I watched conductors on TV and
wanted to be one since I was very little. I did start
musical studies
with the piano
and violin
before dabbling
in some other
instruments
in middle
school and high
school.
“It’
s hard to major in conducting as an under-
grad so I majored in composition as an undergrad
at the New England Conservatory of Music in
Boston. I started studying conducting primarily
in grad school at the Curtis Institute of Music in
Philadelphia.”
After completing Curtis, Gersen
began conducting for the New World
Symphony in Miami. As assistant
conductor, he worked closely with
founder and director Michael Tilson
Thomas, famed director of the San
Francisco Symphony.
An appointment as music director
of the New York Youth Symphony
came before going on to the New York
Philharmonic. Now, he’
s on his own,
traveling to many distant stages as
guest conductor involved in programs way beyond
film scores.
“I haven’
t been composing much lately,” says
Gersen, winner of an Aspen Conducting Prize and
a Robert J. Harth Conducting Prize, both from the
American Academy of Conducting. “I started more
out of curiosity and wanting to try writing. The
first piece I ever performed was through a compe-
tition my youth orchestra held.
“I thought that if I won, I would have a con-
ducting opportunity and wrote more through
high school [times when also performing with a
Connecticut synagogue]. Composing helped me
as a conductor in thinking about a score from the
composer’
s perspective.”
When not working on his own projects, Gersen,
who is single, can be entertained by another musi-
cian and composer in the family. His brother, Eric,
appears as a pianist and comedian active with the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York.
Away from music, Gerson enjoys watching
sports competitions.
As Gersen prepares for his Detroit appearance,
he hopes the film concert adds audience members
unaccustomed to live orchestras.
“This program is a great entry point for peo-
ple who perhaps hadn’
t been to the orchestra,” he
explains. “Hearing live orchestra music that’
s prob-
ably known better can have an impact in maybe
wanting to hear more, not just film concerts but
even the traditional orchestra concerts.” ■
arts&life
“Th
is program is a great entry point
for people who perhaps hadn’
t been to
the orchestra.”
— JOSHUA GERSEN
Details
Jaws in Concert will
start at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 10, in
Orchestra Hall in Detroit.
Tickets start at $40.
(313) 576-5111.
dso.org.
COURTESY JOSHUA GERSEN
Joshua Gersen
will conduct the
DSO perform-
ing the Jaws
soundtrack live in
concert accompa-
nying the movie.
Book cover 1975
PUBLIC DOMAIN