The Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed the music of John Williams at the Grant Park Music Festival at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion. It was a beautiful night.

Here’s the program:

• Superman March from Superman
• Main Title from Star Wars
• Flight to Neverland from Hook
• Theme from Jurassic Park
• Raiders March from Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Excerpts from The Cowboys
• The Imperial March from Star Wars
• Duel of the Fates from Star Wars: Episode I
• Yoda’s Theme from The Empire Strikes Back
• Viktor’s Tale from The Terminal
• March from 1941
• Hedwig’s Theme from Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone
• Excerpts from Close Encounters of the Third Kind

And the encore was Excerpts from E.T.

Here’s some photos:

And to cap the night off, the fireworks from Navy Pier could be seen:

On December 6th, at the United Center, the live Star Wars In Concert took place. This concert traveled with a fair-sized group of props and featured some awesome live Star Wars music synced with a giant screen.  It was fun and awesome.

October 18, 2003 – Classical music is not necassarily the first thing that most people think of when they think of science fiction, yet many science fiction movies draw on the sound of the masters. Who can think of 2001: A Space Odyessy without humming “Also Sprach Zarathustra” or “Blue Danube”?

The West Suburban Symphony recognized the connection and organized a concert that showcased the many sci-fi themed pieces that can be found. Of special interest to Chicago Force were several pieces from John Williams’ Star Wars score. To set the tone for the evening, the Symphony contacted Chicago Force and asked us to deorcate the lobby of the high school in which the concert was being held.

Also present were members of the Rebel Legion and the 501st’s Midwest Garrison. While the Symphony played the “Imperial March”, the costumers marched in the aisles of the theater, ending as a group in front of the musicians right as the piece ended. The audience loved it (but we knew they would).

Chicago Force would like to thank the Rebel Legion and the 501st for their ever-impressive visit, and the West Surburban Symphony for inviting us to their party and allowing us to express our geekiness.