Owensboro Symphony to blend art, music with 'Night at the Museum' concert

Mar. 3—The Owensboro Symphony will take the city on an artistic and musical trip with its "Night at the Museum" concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 4 in RiverPark Center's Cannon Hall.

Selections will include music from adventure films such as "Indiana Jones," "The Mummy" and "Night at the Museum" and will also feature an "illuminating performance" of Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," which was inspired by an exhibition of the artwork by Mussorgsky's friend Viktor Hartmann, who was an artist, architect and designer.

Troy Quinn, music director, looks forward to putting on a good show.

"I'm excited to (present) this ... fusion of great cinematic pieces ...," Quinn said. "(They're) great, big, bold works that have a museum theme throughout all of them."

The show will also include visuals from the films to bring the music to life, which Quinn feels enhances the experience.

"I think when you go to a museum and when you have a visual stimulation, it's often that — at least in my head — that music accompanies it," Quinn said. "On all of these epic cinematic journeys, there's always music going on in the background ...."

Quinn and Gwyn Payne, Owensboro Symphony CEO, find the concert's material is fitting for the audience that attends the organization's events.

"I think it's all inclusive — certainly everything we do, but particularly this, is family-friendly," Quinn said.

"The symphony's patron base includes lots of young families, as well as long-time subscribers. It is always our goal to create a memorable experience for the young and the young at heart," Payne said. "There are lots of different technical components that go into a concert, and we are always thinking of new and exciting ways to present our concerts. This concert will prove to be another example of that objective."

Since starting its 57th season in October, Payne and Quinn have been happy seeing people make their way back into the concert hall to hear live music since the height of the coronavirus pandemic and being able to share the orchestra's talents with the public.

"It is a great feeling to see people streaming back into the hall to enjoy the concerts," Payne said. "Our attendance numbers continue to grow, and I believe it shows us that people want in-person concert experiences."

"We're back to basically where we were pre-COVID," Quinn said. "... I think in terms of our community outreach and attendance, things have never been better."

Attendees are also encouraged to join Quinn from 6:15 to 6:40 p.m. in Cannon Hall for a special pre-concert conversation about the performance.

Tickets can be purchased by phone at 270-684-0661 and at the RiverPark Center box office.

'A Night at the Oscars' broadcastThe Owensboro Symphony will also have its "A Night at the Oscars" concert premiere at 8:30 p.m. Friday, March 3 on Kentucky Education Television (KET).

The television special was taped in January 2022 front of a live audience. The orchestra performed pieces from the movies "La La Land," "The Godfather" and other Academy Award-recognized films.

The special guest performer, Eric Rigler, who plays uilleann pipes, Great Highland bagpipes and tin whistle, has performed on numerous movie soundtracks, including "Braveheart," "Cinderella Man," "Million Dollar Baby" and "Titanic." He can be heard playing some of his original solos during the concert special.

Previously, the organization's "Safe at Home for the Holidays" concert aired on KET. Payne and Quinn look forward to having another event viewed by a large audience.

"After the success of 'Safe at Home for the Holidays,' we immediately knew we wanted to set our sights on recording the full orchestra during a live concert," Payne said in a press release. "Broadcasting on KET allows us to reach residents across the entire commonwealth, and for KET to make it available nationally is such great exposure."

"(This) is the greatest project that I have been a part of with the Owensboro Symphony," Quinn said. "I'm very proud of it."

"We're pleased to share this program with viewers across KET's statewide network and look forward to making it available to other PBS member stations as well," said Nancy Southgate, KET's chief content officer, in a press release.

Viewers can watch KET on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire Stick by downloading the PBS App on one of those platforms and selecting KET as their local station.