By Christine Shuster
For The Salisbury Post
Did you know that the music for iPsychoî was an all-strings score? Or that iAlso Sprach Zarathustraî was not the original music for iSpace Odyssey 2001î?
If you have an interest in music and Hollywood movies, you need to attend a spectacular show of sight and sound.
iReel Music: A Collaborative Film & Music Projectî will be presented at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 27, in Keppel Auditorium on the campus of Catawba College.
The project is a joint effort between the Catawba College Community Band and the Reel Music: Music in Film honors class.
The Catawba College Community Band, directed by Dr. Stephen Etters, will perform selections from musically significant movies, including iJaws,î iStar Trek,î iET,î iThe Pink Panther,î iPsychoî and iBraveheart.î
During the performance, carefully selected excerpts from the highlighted films will be projected onto a backdrop by the Reel Music students. These excerpts have been chosen by the students in the Reel Music class as part of their final project.
Andie Ayscue, a psychology major who is one of the Reel Music students, volunteered to take on the technology aspect of the project.
iI use an editing program, and take just the selected clips off the DVDs, then assemble all the pieces together over music recordings so it will be in sync,î he says. iThe clips are exported without the sounds so that it will be silent over the ensemble.î
The Reel Music students will introduce the music selections and they will also provide poster displays for the audience to view during intermission or after the performance.
iI hope that the people who come will learn some interesting facts about film music that they may not have known before,î says Lara Poplo, a music business major.
This project is a new idea that has not been tried before at Catawba College.
iThe study of film has often focused on the visual aspects of the medium, with little attention given to the important role that music plays,î says Dr. Julie Chamberlain, who teaches the Reel Music class.
iThrough the Reel Music Honors Course, students have had the opportunity this semester to examine the many functions of film music and learn about its prominent role in cinema. Specifically, students have examined how music complements and influences the interpretation of film images and characterizations, as well as what this reveals about our culture and our values. This collaborative project with the Catawba Community Band provides an exciting opportunity for the students to apply what they have learned in a multimedia setting with members of the community.î
The students feel the same way.
Cyle Petersen, a Political Science/ International Relations major in the Reel Music class says, iThe concert provides a great opportunity for people to see that film music is not just random music added to a film; rather it is specifically designed for each second of imagery in the film to make the experience that much better for the viewer.î
Lauren Flynn, double majoring in biology and music, is a student in the Reel Music class and the Wind Ensemble.
She finds great value in the experience by saying, iI think it is exciting to be both in the band and part of the music in film class. I am able to bring what I learn about specific composers or films into rehearsal and apply it to the music I am playing. I am glad that I was able to not only be part of this incredibly interesting class, but also be part of a brand new experience at Catawba College by bringing what I am learning in a classroom setting into a hands-on experience.î
The Reel Music class is part of the Catawba College Honors Program, in which classes are designed to be multi-disciplinary experiences for students, no matter what their major.
Petersen says, iThe class has not turned out to be what I expected. For someone who does not know practically anything about music, I was expecting it to be a course more for music majors but it was designed really well to fit the needs and musical abilities of any student.î

Christine Shuster is a sophomore music business major at Catawba College, and a student in the Reel Music class.