The Auditorium Theatre continues the inaugural season of its Auditorium Philms Concert Series, a groundbreaking collaboration with The Chicago Philharmonic Society.
The five-concert series is a new multi-media experience presenting iconic films brought to life with scores performed in concert by the Chicago Philharmonic, continuing on Juneteenth weekend with Marvel Studio’s iconic blockbuster Black Panther in Concert.
The movie will play on the big screen while a 70-person orchestra made up of members of the Chicago Philharmonic orchestra and conducted by Emil de Cou perform the score live to the film. Massamba Diop, the world-renowned Senegalese tama drummer who not only played on but also composed sections of the original score, will join the orchestra. Audience members are encouraged to dress up as their favorite Black Panther character, Marvel superhero, or in celebration of the film’s Afro-futurist themes.
The one-night-only performance celebrating Black excellence in music and cinema in honor of the Juneteenth holiday takes place at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E Ida B Wells Dr, Saturday, June 22 at 7:30 PM. Tickets are available HERE.
In 2018, Marvel Studios’ Black Panther quickly became a global sensation and cultural phenomenon, showing a new dimension of what superhero films could be. Starring the late great Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa/Black Panther alongside some of the best actors of our time including Lupita Nyong’o, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, and Forest Whitaker, Black Panther exposed audiences to a new kind of superhero movie — one that could be at once action-packed, cinematically engaging, and socially conscious. Composer Ludwig Göransson whose other credits include Oppenheimer, Tenet, Creed, and The Mandalorian, crafted the score to Black Panther in collaboration with Senegalese musicians Baba Maal and Massamba Diop.
The Academy Award winning movie score combines traditional Senegalese music, Western symphonic scoring, and 21st Century digital production techniques to parallel the film’s Afro-futurist themes and create a sound that feels both futuristic and ancient. In a particularly inspired collaboration between Göransson and Diop, the film hero T’Challa is represented by three notes on the talking drum that sound rhythmically similar to the name “T’Challa.” This theme is repeated throughout the film, first by the talking drum and then the entire orchestra and is transformed depending on the scene.
“We are excited to once again collaborate with the Chicago Philharmonic for Black Panther Live in Concert,” said Auditorium Theatre CEO Rich Regan. “During our last Auditorium Philms concert- Batman 1989– our audiences not only enjoyed hearing the excellence of the Chicago Philharmonic as they performed the score of a classic film in a new and exciting way, but they also arrived in costume as their favorite characters from the film! We can’t wait to see the Black Panther audience dressed to the nines in their favorite Marvel and superhero gear for this film.”
Added Chicago Philharmonic Executive Director Terell Johnson, “Words can’t describe how meaningful it is to me to bring this live to film concert, about Marvel Studios’ first Black superhero to Chicago on Juneteenth weekend and in the middle of Black Music Month. This record-breaking film highlights why representation matters and it is a tremendous celebration of Black culture and artistry. This is an inclusive event that people from all over our city can enjoy together at the historic Auditorium Theatre.”
The inaugural 2024 Auditorium Philms Concert Series continues with the North American debut of Bram Stoker’s Dracula this fall with a film score for 110 musicians (full orchestra, choir, and soprano) by 20th Century Polish master composer Wojiech Kilar; and the pop holiday fan favorite, Love Actually in time for the holidays.
Find out more information about the series HERE.
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