An extended audio version of this story, originally produced for KMUC, can be found at the end of this article.
For such a large performance space, the Missouri Theatre's stage was surprisingly claustrophobic as members of the Missouri Symphony filed in, set up their instruments, and began warming up for their debut performance of How to Train Your Dragon's score on April 8.
The claustrophobia came in part from the 80 musicians working together to bring the fictional island of Berk — and the dragons that terrorize it — to life in a way Columbians haven't seen before. How to Train Your Dragon is the MOSY live performance alongside a film screening.
It was hard to ignore the large projector screen hanging from the ceiling, displaying the film's title card, with only a few inches of clearance between the bottom of the screen and the crown of the harp.
"We do want to convert the people who come to these films to a regular concert. But on the other hand, this is an amazing art form. So this, in itself, is kind of our core mission anyways."Wilbur Lin
Kyla Dunn, Missouri Theatre's director of events, said the quantity of performers, combined with the projection screen and other technical components of the film's playback, pushed the absolute limits of what the stage can fit. She said this is especially because of the size of the percussion section, which is integral to the film's score.
"It plays a massive role in, you know, the fight scenes and the things that are going to happen in How to Train Your Dragon," Dunn said. "And so it's not something that we could cut, but we did have to find a way to have a stage plot that allowed for it."
On the other side of the building, patrons were rolling into the theater's lobby and collecting their programs ahead of the show. University of Missouri senior and College of Arts & Sciences social media intern Annie Whikater was posted outside the front door. She said this is the youngest crowd she had seen at the Missouri Theatre all year, and she had been sent to cover most every event it held.
"I love that my demographic wants to see shows like this, and this is a great way to do it. Who doesn't love How to Train Your Dragon? We all grew up with it!" Whitaker said.
The excitement for live score performances has gained popularity in just the last ten years. A shifting entertainment landscape, combined with the popularity of scores like Star Wars, have pushed venues to embrace this new type of performance.
MOSY orchestra manager and cellist Adrian Gomez said he was excited to see the ensemble stepping into this new realm, "It's a great experience, and I am sure that people are gonna love it."
Though the format might scare off traditional orchestra audiences, MOSY conductor Wilbur Lin said the way to get new classical music fans isn't going to be finding a one-show-fits-all solution.
"We do want to convert the people who come to these films to a regular concert," Lin said. "But on the other hand, this is an amazing art form. So this, in itself, is kind of our core mission anyways."
Moving into the actual performance, once the audience had settled into their seats, the show started in what should have been an expected fashion. But as the opening notes of Universal Studio's iconic introductory theme rang out, the audience responded with a bit of surprised laughter.
With that, the crowd was immediately hooked, settling in for the ride. MU students Rachel Derner and Addison Sextonson said they were completely transported for the duration of the performance.
"Sometimes I forget that they're the ones actually playing it," Derner/Sextonson said. "I feel like, also, it gets you thinking about music more. Like, music, just in your day-to-day life, music is all around you, but you don't always stop and notice it. ... So like, when you're watching a movie like this and you're seeing the people actually perform it live, it gets you to think about the music that you're hearing more, too."
Just as dragon-trainer Hiccup Haddock shows his community the beauty of dragons, MOSY appears to be showing young audiences the beauty of live classical music performance.
