The Symphonic Tribute to Comic Con 3.0 -Scotty's Recap

There are very few events that I look forward to during the year, but one of them is the Symphonic Tribute to Comic Con. One of the biggest reasons why I enjoy this event is that it incorporates almost everything from the past and the present when it comes to pop culture. This year was no different as we traveled through the world of dragons by way of our new conductor Christopher Dragon. Putting musical themes together this year to tell the story of a lifetime, I doubt that anyone left the concert hall feeling cheated at all.

Starting off with the theme from Game of Thrones, followed by How to Train your Dragon, you knew that this was going to be a great ride, especially when watching as Shae was lighting up with the music that she loves; How to Train Your Dragon, not GOT, she has yet to watch that, but along with a taste of Harry Potter, it was a great beginning to the show.  But then we had our guest conductor Austin Wintory make an appearance for the third straight year and he was able to blow our minds once again with his score from Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. That was not all Austin had in store for us though as he conducted a medley of Jerry Goldsmith’s classics. If you have never heard of Jerry Goldsmith, you need to check out his page on IMDB and I can guarantee that you have watched at least one movie he has scored.

After a couple more songs, we were met with our intermission and the excitement around the Boettcher Concert Hall was like nothing I have ever felt. Eaves dropping on a couple of conversations, everyone was loving the show thus far and it would take something horrific to bring down the mood. When the ten minute warning bell was rung, everyone started to rush back to their seats to ensure that they did not miss what was next on the docket and for good reason as an Indiana Jones dressed Dragon was leading us into the final half of our night. Starting off with a rendition of the pop song "Bad Blood". I was blown away by the rendition and I hope everyone was as impressed as I was with it. Even though I am not as familiar with the song as some people, it made me want to give it a listen before writing this, I think that the Colorado Symphony Orchestra did a great job on their rendition and I when I do finally listen to the song, I'm pretty sure I will like the Symphony version better. 

Following this up with the Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark, I was taken back to my youth once again, something that this show has been able to do successfully for three years now.  Then we jumped back into video game scores with Fallout and Final Fantasy VII.  One of the things that has become very apparent in these shows over the past couple of years is the importance of music in the gaming industry and now that fans are finally able to see where this comes from, I hope that it opens their eyes and ears to what other processes have to go into games other than just awesome graphics. The highlight for me however was the theme from Cosmos, I felt like Neil deGrasse Tyson was going to walk out and talk about space for a bit, alas he did not.  No Tribute to Comic Con would be complete without some Doctor Who and Star Wars and that is how the show finished up.

I have always loved the Symphony and have seen several shows over the years after they have started to put on these pop culture shows.  It is amazing to see how the Colorado Symphony Orchestra has been able to adapt to the changing culture by changing what traditional symphony used to be. It is not all about Beethoven and Bach anymore, it is about what people are able to connect with, not only for themselves, but with their children as well. Seeing all of the kids running around the concert hall, taking pictures with the 501st Legion, R2-D2 and the Umbrella Corp, it opens your eyes to what is most important, our future. If one in ten of the children at the event this year choses to pick up an instrument and learn how to make music, the symphony will never go away and that is my biggest take away from these events. A huge thank you to Denver Comic Con/Pop Culture Classroom for helping to get these events going, Boettcher Concert Hall for providing an awesome venue and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra for making dreams come true for another year. I cannot wait until next year to see what music will be played next since there are so many more movies, television shows and video games that have yet to be hit by this series.

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