On Sunday night in the Northern Recital Hall of Mary Moody Northern Hall, WTAMU Symphony Orchestra performed the accompanying music to Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid. When the film first came to theaters in 1921 a live orchestra accompanied the film, as pre-recorded soundtracks had not been invented yet.

“This is some people’s first experience with an orchestra,” Dr. Mark Bartley, Associate Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities, said. “It’s so unusual.”

The score of music for the performance is written by Dr. Brooks, Assistant Professor of music at WT. From auditions only fifty students are chosen to be in the live cinema orchestra.

“I enjoy giving people the opportunity to hear a different type of classical music,” Noah Littlejohn, a graduate student of music performance, said. “People can enjoy the music and the show.”

After their Sunday night performance the WT Symphony Orchestra took their show on the road.  Monday they performed at the La Rita Theater in Dalhart and on Oct. 25 they performed at the Yucca Theater in Midland.  Along with their live cinema performances, the orchestra will hold clinics at Odessa High School, Midland High School and Dalhart High School.  At these clinics they will play side-by-side with the high schools students, do presentations and tell them the challenges of synchronizing music with a movie.

“It’s quite an experience,” Romina Medina, the Concert Master, said.  “The audience and the musicians are drawn into it.”

To mimic the original film, the orchestra strives to produce a unique experience.

“These performances present [classical music] to a modern audience in a different form,” Isaiah Benjamin, a senior music performance major, said. “This is a rare opportunity to see something that you don’t see everyday.”