The Cleveland Orchestra to Perform the Scores From RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

The Cleveland Orchestra will perform live in concert the scores from Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King during its 2024 Blossom Music Festival.  

 

Experience these two fan favorite films in high definition on large screens at Blossom Music Center, The Cleveland Orchestra's scenic summer home in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, with the scores performed live to picture. 

 

First, follow Indiana Jones on his quest in Raiders of the Lost Ark on June 29 and 30. Harrison Ford plays the adventuring archaeologist in the 1981 movie directed by Steven Spielberg with the memorable score composed by the legendary John Williams. 

 

Then, on August 2, 3, and 4, experience the final chapter of Peter Jackson's fantasy adventure trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The Blossom Festival Chorus and The Cleveland Orchestra Children's Chorus will join The Cleveland Orchestra to bring Howard Shore's Academy Award–winning score to life. Based on the novels of J.R.R. Tolkien, the film follows Frodo, Sam, and Gollum as they journey to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring with the fate of Middle-earth at stake.  

 

The full schedule of programming for the 55th Blossom Music Festival, including pops and classical concerts by The Cleveland Orchestra, will be announced in early 2024.  

 

2024 Tickets and Subscriptions  
Lawn Ticket Books are available now for $180. That is $20 off the regular book price and more than $100 off individually priced tickets. This special offer ends December 31, 2023.  

 

Individual tickets for Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King go on sale for Cleveland Orchestra donors and subscribers on November 9. General public ticket sales start November 13. 

 

For tickets, contact the Severance Music Center Ticket Office by phone at 216-231-1111 or by emailing boxoffice@cleveland.com. Tickets and packages can also be purchased online at clevelandorchestra.com. 

 

Under 18s Free  

Under 18s Free helps make attending Blossom Music Festival concerts more affordable for families. With each regular-priced adult ticket purchased, a family can get two free lawn vouchers for children 18 and under.   

 

Under 18s Free is a program of The Cleveland Orchestra's Center for Future Audiences. The Center, created with a lead endowment gift from the Maltz Family Foundation, was established to fund programs to develop new generations of audiences for Cleveland Orchestra concerts in Northeast Ohio.  

 

2024 Blossom Music Festival Sponsors 

The Cleveland Orchestra is proud to partner with The J.M. Smucker Co. as the Presenting Sponsor of the 2024 Blossom Music Festival. We thank Festival Partners Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and Ohio CAT.  

 

The J.M. Smucker Co. and The Cleveland Orchestra 

The J.M. Smucker Co. has supported The Cleveland Orchestra for decades with annual contributions as well as capital gifts for improvements at Blossom Music Center. The company's ongoing, remarkable support has been recognized through concert sponsorship at Blossom for over a decade and has earned membership in the Orchestra's John L. Severance Society — a group of the Orchestra's most dedicated and generous corporate, foundation, and individual supporters. Additionally, The J.M. Smucker Co. was a co-presenting sponsor of The Cleveland Orchestra's Second Century Celebration, bringing the Orchestra's 100th season to life while animating a bold vision for an extraordinary Second Century.  

 

Cleveland Orchestra Board Chair Richard K. Smucker is the Retired Executive Chairman of The J.M. Smucker Co., which was founded 125 years ago by Mr. Smucker's great-grandfather, Jerome Monroe Smucker. Today, The J.M. Smucker Co. is a leading marketer and manufacturer of leading brands across the consumer food, coffee, and pet food and pet snacks categories in North America. While the company's portfolio has dramatically evolved, Smucker remains committed to its values, shaped by its Basic Beliefs, Our Commitment to Each Other and its Purpose, Feeding Connections That Help Us Thrive — Life Tastes Better Together. 

 

 

About Blossom Music Center, Summer Home of The Cleveland Orchestra  

Blossom Music Center was created as the summer home of The Cleveland Orchestra and opened in July 1968 with performances of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony conducted by George Szell. The 200-acre music park features the award-winning and acoustically-acclaimed Blossom Pavilion, designed by renowned Cleveland architect Peter van Dijk and seating more than 5,000 people under cover. The adjoining Blossom Lawn accommodates as many as 15,000 more outside on an expansive natural-bowl amphitheater of grass surrounded by bucolic woods.  
  
In the more than half-century since Blossom's opening, headline makers and yet-to-be-discovered young artists across all genres have created unforgettable musical experiences for more than 21 million visitors. In a typical summer, Blossom serves more than 400,000 visitors, who attend concerts ranging from rock, country, and pop to classical. Live Nation operates Blossom under a long-term contract with The Cleveland Orchestra, dividing each year between the Orchestra's Blossom Music Festival of orchestral performances, and a series of presentations from across many genres.  
  
Located 25 miles south of Cleveland and just north of Akron, Blossom is situated in the rolling hills of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which preserves 33,000 acres of natural parkland along the Cuyahoga River. Blossom Music Center was named to honor the Dudley S. Blossom family, who have been major supporters of The Cleveland Orchestra throughout its history. Blossom lies within the city limits of Cuyahoga Falls, an Ohio community first settled in the early 1800s, at 1145 West Steels Corners Road in Summit County. For more information visit clevelandorchestra.com/discover/blossom-music-center/.   
 

 
The Cleveland Orchestra 2024 Blossom Music Festival Movie Listings 

 

Movie Night Live:  
Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert 

Saturday, June 29, at 7 p.m.  

Sunday, June 30, at 7 p.m.             

The Cleveland Orchestra  

Sarah Hicks, conductor  

  

John Williams Raiders of the Lost Ark (film with live orchestral underscore)  

  

The film that gave the world one of its greatest movie heroes, Indiana Jones, is back and better than ever. Relive the magic on the silver screen with the original great adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark, with John Williams's epic score performed live to picture by The Cleveland Orchestra. The year is 1936, and professor of archeology and “obtainer of rare antiquities” Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is tasked by US Army Intelligence to recover the legendary Ark of the Covenant before it falls into the hands of the Nazis. Indy's quest takes him to Nepal and Egypt, reuniting him with an old friend (John Rhys-Davis), an old foe (Paul Freeman), and an ex-flame (Karen Allen) who falls somewhere in between. Armed with his hat, whip, and wits, our intrepid hero must face formidable enemies, and impossible odds, to save the day and the world.  

 

Movie Night Live: Raiders of the Lost Ark in Concert is presented by NOPEC. 

 

Movie Night Live:  
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King   

Friday, August 2, at 7 p.m.  

Saturday, August 3, at 7 p.m.  

Sunday, August 4, at 7 p.m.  

The Cleveland Orchestra  

Ludwig Wicki, conductor  

The Blossom Festival Chorus  
The Cleveland Orchestra Children's Chorus  
  

Howard Shore The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film with live orchestral underscore, chorus, and soloists)  

 

Return to Middle-earth for the third installment of the trilogy on the big screen with the original score performed live by The Cleveland Orchestra. Director Peter Jackson and composer Howard Shore bring J.R.R. Tolkien's literary imagination to life in this film that won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Score. As Frodo, Sam, and Gollum journey towards Mount Doom, the rest of the Fellowship reunites against Sauron in this battle of good and evil. 

 

Movie Night Live: Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is presented by NOPEC. 

 

 
All programs, artists, and prices are subject to change.   

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