Following their recent announcement of film concerts in the works, Film Concerts PH has officially announced their first major showcase –– bringing the Star Wars: A New Hope In Concert experience to Manila for the first time ever.

Star Wars: A New Hope In Concert is scheduled to happen for two shows later this September, commencing on September 7 at 8 PM for its first show, and the next day (September 8) at 2 PM in the afternoon. Both concerts will be taking place at The Theater at Solaire, and will be accompanied by a screening of the complete film, with the Oscar-winning score to be performed live by the Filharmonika Orchestra, conducted by veteran music conductor Gerard Salonga.

The Star Wars franchise is recognized as a pop culture phenomenon all across the globe, yet one aspect of the series that’s universally beloved is John Williams’ iconic compositions to the soundtrack of the films. With A New Hope, Williams was able to meticulously craft several themes and sounds that brought life to George Lucas’ world –– bridging audiences worldwide much closer to a galaxy that is far, far away.

Though the upcoming of series of shows marks the first time it is set to push through here in Manila, a 2020 staging of the same film was supposed to take place but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Salonga was also enlisted to serve as the lead conductor for the production in the same venue, but it was the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra who was initially set to perform Williams’ score live.

Film Concerts PH is helmed by Mikhail Schemm, who helped produce the Call Me By Your Name concert in Manila in 2018 alongside the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone concert in 2019. The Call Me By Your Name concert was the country’s first-ever ‘live-to-film’ concert, and featured the Manila Symphony Orchestra, while the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone concert was helmed by the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra.

Pre-sales for tickets to Star Wars: A New Hope In Concert will be available at 10 a.m. on June 3, while the general sale begins two days later, on June 5. Tickets can be purchased online and in Ticketworld outlets nationwide here.


Listen to John Williams’ Oscar-winning score to Star Wars: A New Hope below: