Princeton Symphony Orchestra Soundtracks Talk: Amadeus and the Myth of Mozart To Announced In Febuary

Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) continues its series of Soundtracks Talks at the Princeton Public Library with “Amadeus and the Myth of Mozart” on Wednesday, February 5 at 7pm in the library's Community Room.

Chris Collier, Executive Director of the Princeton Garden Theatre, and Michael Pratt, Conductor of the Princeton University Orchestra, unravel the enduring legacy and myth of Mozart by watching and discussing excerpts of the 1984 Academy Award-winning movie Amadeus. Their conversation anticipates the Garden Theatre's showing of the restored theatrical cut of the film the following evening, Thursday, February 6 at 7pm.

Christopher R. Collier is the Executive Director of Renew Theaters, a nonprofit management company that operates four nonprofit, member-supported theaters in PA and NJ: The Ambler Theater, County Theater, Hiway Theater, and Princeton Garden Theatre. He has worked at Renew since 2007, starting as a manager of his hometown Ambler Theater. Over his 17 years with Renew, the company has doubled in size, both in staff and number of theaters. Chris holds degrees in Musicology from Dartmouth College and the University of Oxford, where he focused his research on film music and conducting. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and two daughters.

Michael Pratt is now in his forty-seventh season on the Princeton University music faculty. There he conducts the much-heralded Princeton University Orchestra, directs the Minor in Music Performance program and teaches performance classes. His career encompasses international tours with PUO and appearances with major American orchestras. His repertory extends from the 17th to the 21st centuries, in both opera and symphonic repertory. Personal honors include Honorary Membership in the Royal College of Music, London and the President's Distinguished Teaching Award. His first novel, The Copyists, includes Mozart as a character, and was published in October 2023.

There will be a brief Q&A immediately following the talk, and attendees will have the opportunity to enter a drawing to win tickets to one of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra's February 8-9 performances of All Mozart with Orli Shaham. Tickets and information are available at princetonsymphony.org.

Soundtracks is free and open to the public, and is presented as a PSO BRAVO! community outreach program in partnership with Princeton Public Library. The series is sponsored in the 2024-25 season by AffinIT.

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