The Harry Potter Film Concert Series Will Cast Its Spell on the Arsht Center

It's been 15 years since the world was introduced to the boy who lived — and he's still Mr. Popularity. Harry Potter and his motley crew continue to inspire rabid fandom across multiple generations.

Now the famous wizard is making his way to the Adrienne Arsht Center. The Harry Potter Film Concert Series will kick off June 10 with its first installment, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

The gist is this: The film will show in high-def on a 40-foot screen in the Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht. Meanwhile, an 80-plus-piece live orchestra will play an accompanying score.

The concert series includes all of the Potter flicks, so this is just the beginning. "Over the next several years, we have made a commitment that we will present each of the eight films," says the Arsht's senior director of programming, Erica Schwartz.

This isn't the first symphonic concert the Arsht has hosted. Fantasia was presented this past December, and the center has also presented game soundtracks such as Pokémon and the Legend of Zelda.
"As a programmer, it's amazing because you're getting people who may love one thing and exposing them to another. It's two completely different genres. With film, you may get someone who loves the Harry Potter franchise but has never been to an orchestra concert. Then you get a lover of symphony seeing the orchestra supporting the action and the drama of the film."

Harry Potter fans tend to be particularly fond of dressing up like their fave Hogwarts heroes. Will that be the case at this performance? Probably, Schwartz says.

"In general, the Harry Potter franchise does experience that a lot. Even with Pokémon and Zelda, there have been people who have come in that kind of comic-con, expressing-themselves way," she adds. "It’s exciting to see people get into it and really have a passion for it and to share that with others."

Harry Potter has fans of all ages, so expect a cross-generational audience. Already, the evening show is selling faster than the matinee, Schwartz says. "How great that it’s still so popular this many years later? It's pretty amazing as a whole entity, really."

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, June 10, in the Knight Concert Hall at the Arsht Center, 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-949-6722; arshtcenter.org. Tickets cost $39 to $105 via arshtcenter.org.