Star Wars The Force Awakens: 'Episode 7' Spoilers, Rumors: Gustavo Dudamel Conducts Opening of New Film
Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel had a major role in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
The famed composer actually conducted sections of John Williams' new score for the epic film.
The maestro conducted the "bookend" pieces of the score, according to the Los Angeles Times. While that is not completely clear, it suggests that he conducts the opening theme of the film that recurs throughout the saga as well as the closing credits medley. Williams conducts the rest of the score which includes most, if not all, of the new material.
"I remember thinking, 'He's joking,'" Dudamel said, according to the Times. "John has such a wonderful sense of humor, and I somehow thought that there must be a catch. It turns out there was: I couldn't tell anyone!"
Dudamel is the first conductor aside from Williams to conduct part of the score for the new movie though there is some music in the film that was not composed by the veteran musician.
Williams has scored all seven movies to date, but he will not compose the forthcoming "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"; that film will be scored by Alexandre Desplat. Many suggest that the prolific composer could be the man that eventually replaces Williams as the go-to guy for future "Star Wars" movies.
This is also the first "Star Wars" film to be scored by the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the previous films had been recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Dudamel is a renowned Venezuelan conductor who is known for being a music prodigy. He studied conducting at the age of 14, and at 18 was appointed the conductor of the Orquesta Sinfonica Simon Bolivar. From there his career skyrocketed, with the conductor eventually landing a gig as the music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is currently contracted to remain with the group through the 2021-22 season.
He wrote the score to the recent "El Libertador" film.
* This is a contributed article and this content does not necessarily represent the views of latinpost.com