Movie soundtracks go from screen to the stage in a feel-good end to SMU Arts Fest 2024.

Ending off the 2024 SMU Arts Fest, student orchestra SMU Symphonia and SMU Chamber Choir came together to perform the soundtracks of some of cinema’s most popular and beloved films last Friday at the SOTA Concert Hall. Led by SMU Symphonia resident conductor Adrian Chiang, not only did they perform medleys of the most iconic compositions from these films; each segment was also accompanied by footage from each film playing on a screen above the stage, allowing audience members to better contextualise the music we were hearing, and relive the memories of watching these films.

The concert began on a light note, with the soundtrack to Illumination’s animated film The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023). As a surprise, the entire orchestra whipped out red caps emblazoned with the signature ‘M’ symbol, and wore them throughout the segment. As we heard the familiar theme song anyone who’s played the game would immediately recognise, we were filled with a sense of nostalgia, and were energised as we watched the colourful footage play out onscreen, with Mario engaged in various action sequences that got our adrenaline pumping for the rest of the evening.

Boldly taking us where no man has gone before, SMU Symphonia then moved on to compositions from Star Trek, a real treat for the die-hard Trekkies, as these showcased footage and the soundtrack of the classic original series films starring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and George Takei. After coming back to Earth, we still weren’t ready to return to real life just yet, and instead, SMU Symphonia brought us to a land before time, playing selections from the scores from the original Jurassic Park series of films. John Williams’ score is famous for a reason, immediately creating a sense of wonder and awe with its main theme played live, while we watched the scientists onscreen marvel with eyes wide at their first encounters with the dinosaurs.

SMU Symphonia then proceeded with the jaunty, New York-inspired soundtrack to The Secret Life of Pets, which was surprisingly, created by award-winning composer Alexandre Desplat. While this certainly isn’t his most renowned release, the concert offered us an opportunity to better appreciate these underrated pieces, offering a resounding end to the first half of the concert while we watched the pets’ zany antics when their owners’ went out for the day.

Post-intermission, SMU Chamber Choir took to the stage, with Jennifer Tham accompanying on piano, and Resident Conductor Kenny Khoo leading them in a medley of songs from Disney’s Hercules. In this segment, SMU Symphonia remained backstage, allowing the choir to be in the spotlight the entire time and show off their ability to harmonise these rearranged songs. Containing some of Disney’s catchiest songs, SMU Chamber Choir delivered and did justice to favourites like ‘Go The Distance’, going from emotional chorus to the more high-energy numbers like ‘Zero to Hero’, with a few singers even getting their chance to become stars with well-placed solos.

As SMU Symphonia took their places onstage again, conductor Adrian Chiang also took his position, and led both the choir and orchestra in a Grease medley, taking us straight back to its infectious shoo-wops with classics like ‘We Go Together’. From the jaunty ’50s, we then went all the way to France, with musical-turned-movie Les Miserables (2012). Setting the scene with the sombre ‘Look Down’, the highlight of this segment was certainly ‘I Dreamed A Dream’, with impressive solos and group segments that brought us the pain and tragedy of 1800s France. Fitting in even the comedic numbers like ‘Master of the House’, this segment ultimately chose to end us off on a note of poignant hope with ‘One Day More’.

But of course, a concert that’s all about play and having fun has to end off on its highest energy segment of all – the cult classic musical-turned-movie Mamma Mia!. Whether you know these songs from Swedish supergroup ABBA, the original musical, or the movie adaptation, it is undeniable that these are numbers that immediately put us in a joyous mood, from to the starry-eyed ‘I Have A Dream’, to ‘Super Trouper’, as we watch Meryl Streep Christine Baranski and Julie Walters in their disco suits dancing away. Bringing the entire concert to a close with ‘Dancing Queen’, you feel exuberant watching the entire Greek town dance their way to the pier, and can’t help but tap your feet to the beat too.

Bringing the entire SMU Arts Fest 2024 to a close, Screen Play is a concert that evokes joy and nostalgia for all the good times we’ve had experiencing movie magic in the cinemas, with the power of live music somehow bringing these scenes to life, feeling closer than ever before, and is testament to the power of play and take a break from the stress of daily life, and find the value of finding little moments to simply have fun.

Photo Credit: Singapore Management University

Screen Play played on 13th September 2024 at SOTA Concert Hall. More information available here

SMU Arts Fest 2024: PLAY ran from 30th August to 13th September 2024. Full programme available here