By Scott Watkins—
Legendary vampire silent film to be screened as musicians of Orchestra Indiana perform American Composer and Conductor Kermit Poling’s score.
MUNCIE, IN – Orchestra Indiana today announced that it will screen Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror – while musicians of Orchestra Indiana perform a score written by American composer and conductor Kermit Poling for the legendary silent film – at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 22 in the E.B. Ball Auditorium of the Cornerstone Center for the Arts. The event will celebrate 100 years of Nosferatu (released in 1922). Advance tickets are $10 and are available online at www.OrchestraIndiana.org. $15 tickets will be available at the door one hour prior to the performance.
Nosferatu is a silent, black-and-white film directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck that closely mirrors Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. Stoker’s heirs successfully sued to stop the film, but not all prints were destroyed. 100 years later, Nosferatu remains one of the scariest films of all time, and a stunning example of the silent era.
Much of Hans Erdmann’s original score – meant to be performed by a live orchestra – to Nosferatu was lost. In 2011, American composer and conductor Kermit Poling was commissioned to create a new score for strings and keyboard.
About Kermit Poling
Multi-talented American musician Kermit Poling served as concertmaster and Assistant Conductor of the Shreveport Symphony for more than three decades. His original compositions have been enthusiastically received by audiences across the globe and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.
https://www.kermitpoling.com/biography
About Orchestra Indiana
Orchestra Indiana began in March 2022 when the Muncie Symphony Orchestra and Marion Philharmonic Orchestra merged into one organization. Both the MSO and MPO have rich histories in our region, and Orchestra Indiana is fortunate to continue their legacies.
The Muncie Symphony Orchestra began when Dr. Robert Hargreaves was hired by the Ball State Teachers College to lead the college’s music program in the 1940s. He thought Muncie needed an autonomous orchestra. Hargreaves led the first professional orchestra with two concerts in the spring of 1948. (cont.)
By January 1950, more than 50 musicians met and approved a constitution for the Muncie Civic and College Symphony Association. For more than 70 years, the Muncie Symphony Orchestra flourished thanks to a strong relationship with Ball State University, with BSU music faculty and talented music students making up a large portion of the orchestra.
The Marion Philharmonic was formed in 1969 under the direction of Benjamin G. Del Vecchio. The orchestra was comprised of students and local area musicians until it became a semi-professional ensemble within a five year period. Mr. Del Vecchio was an Indiana University doctoral student when he joined the music faculty at Taylor University. Little did he know founding an orchestra would become a major priority. With the assistance of Dr. Edward Hermanson of Taylor University and a group of committed Marion businessmen, the orchestra quickly became a passion of Del Vecchio and together they developed the MPO.
The musicians of Orchestra Indiana include musicians from both the former MSO and MPO. They are professors, students, and professional musicians who hail from east central Indiana, Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Cincinnati. Many of our musicians also have “day jobs” as farmers, teachers, EMTs, and executive directors. All are passionate about bringing live orchestral music to you!
