A uniquely familiar soundtrack that will forever be a part of cinematic history, “Titanic LIVE” sees James Horner’s epic score take center stage with Eastman’s Empire Film and Media Ensemble, as well as a vocal soloist, children’s choir, Uilleann pipes and traditional Irish whistles, while the film is projected on a vast screen in Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. On Friday, February 21, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. this captivating live to picture concert experience will be conducted by six-time Emmy Award-winning composer and conductor Mark Watters, director of Eastman’s Beal Institute.
James Horner composed for over 100 motion pictures, frequently collaborating with directors such as James Cameron and Ron Howard. Other scores include Avatar (the only film to surpass Titanic in box office sales), Braveheart, Aliens, Apollo 13, Star Trek II and more recently, The Amazing Spiderman.
The 1997 blockbuster Titanic, written and directed by James Cameron, became one of the most prolific movies of all time, grossing over $2 billion at the box office and winning 11 Academy Awards® including Best Picture and Best Director and more importantly, Best Original Song and Dramatic Score. (Please note that Titanic has a PG-13 rating for ‘disaster related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality and brief language’ and runs for approximately 3 hours.)
At the “Titanic LIVE” premiere in April 2015, James Cameron shared: “This experience is beyond anything I’ve seen in the theater. When hearing the music out front and dominating, you really realize how the music drives the emotion of the movie. I felt these big surges of powerful emotion whether it was the elation of the love story or the dread, the fear. A beautiful experience.”
“Titanic LIVE” is part of the Eastman Presents: Kodak Hall Series, bringing new works and world-class artists to the Rochester community. For more information and to purchase tickets to this spectacular event, please visit EastmanTheatre.org or call 585-274-3000.
Media only: Lauren Sageer, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Digital Content,
(585) 451-8492, lsageer@esm.rochester.edu
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About the Beal Institute:
The Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media at the Eastman School of Music provides students with instruction and experiences that prepare them for the increasingly evolving opportunities to write, produce, and perform music for film and contemporary media. Founded in 2016 by Emmy-winning composer Jeff Beal ’85E and vocalist Joan Beal ’84E, and under the direction of Mark Watters, Emmy Award-winning composer and conductor, the program builds on the film legacy of the school’s founder, George Eastman.
Students in the Beal Institute have opportunities to work with established visiting artists: professional composers, arrangers and musicians who are actively engaged in the film, television and video game industry. Students are also encouraged to collaborate on cross-disciplinary and multi-media projects with other students, faculty members from humanities, composition, and other Eastman departments, community arts organizations, and other area universities. The Institute enhances the graduate degree program in convergent media and film music.
Jeff Beal, who received his Bachelor of Music degree from Eastman with High Distinction in 1985, serves as artistic director of the Institute and continues to be closely involved with the students, faculty, and administration of the school.
About Eastman School of Music:
The Eastman School of Music was founded in 1921 by industrialist and philanthropist George Eastman (1854-1932), founder of Eastman Kodak Company. It was the first professional school of the University of Rochester. Mr. Eastman’s dream was that his school would provide a broad education in the liberal arts as well as superb musical training.
More than 900 students are enrolled in the Collegiate Division of the Eastman School of Music—about 500 undergraduates and 400 graduate students. They come from almost every state, and approximately 23 percent are from other countries. They are taught by a faculty comprised of more than 130 highly regarded performers, composers, conductors, scholars, and educators. They are Pulitzer Prize winners, Grammy winners, Emmy winners, Guggenheim fellows, ASCAP Award recipients, published authors, recording artists, and acclaimed musicians who have performed in the world’s greatest concert halls. Each year, Eastman’s students, faculty members, and guest artists present more than 900 concerts to the Rochester community. Additionally, more than 1,700 members of the Rochester community, from young children through senior citizens, are enrolled in the Eastman Community Music School.
About the University of Rochester:
The University of Rochester is one of the nation’s leading private research universities, one of only 62-member institutions in the Association of American Universities. Located in Rochester, N.Y., the University gives undergraduates exceptional opportunities for interdisciplinary study and close collaboration with faculty through its unique cluster-based curriculum. Its College, School of Arts and Sciences, and Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences are complemented by the Eastman School of Music, Simon School of Business, Warner School of Education, Laboratory for Laser Energetics, School of Medicine and Dentistry, School of Nursing, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, and the Memorial Art Gallery.