Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Brings Childhood Nostalgia To Bass Hall With 'Looney Tunes' Performance

Arlington TX

02 September, 2021

6:21 PM

Description

By Brooke Colombo, Fort Worth Report September 1, 2021 The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra has been performing since 1912. The symphony orchestra has performed at Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center and has released 13 recordings. (Courtesy: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra)As a kid, George Daugherty woke up early Saturday mornings to catch episodes of the "Looney Tunes," and those cartoon characters first sparked his love for the symphony and classical music. "We didn't realize we were hearing Vogner, Rossini, Tchaikovsky or Strauss — all these great composers," Daugherty said. "I listened to these cartoons again and realized the music was extraordinary, not just on a cartoon level but on a compositional level — a classical music level." Inspired by the cartoons, he and David Ka Lik Wong composed original scores to perform with a live symphony orchestra. Now, Daugherty is guest-conducting the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for the 30th anniversary of "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony" at Bass Performance Hall from Sept. 3-5. A screen behind the orchestra will play scenes from the cartoon throughout the performances. "Looney Tunes" saw a resurgence in popularity after it debuted on HBO Max in May 2020, beating out shows like "Game of Thrones" and "Friends" in viewership. "Space Jam: A New Legacy," the sequel to the 1996 "Space Jam" featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and the numerous other Looney Tunes characters, came out in July. Principal trumpet Kyle Sherman, who joined the orchestra in 2016, is excited to see the variety of ages in the audience after the recent reprise of the characters. "The 'Looney Tunes' has been in decades and decades of childhoods across several generations," Sherman said. "It'll be interesting to see people coming back to see this thing and watch some childhood favorites. That's going to make it even more relevant." The performances mark the first time the symphony orchestra will return to Bass Performance Hall since it closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the 30th anniversary of "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony". Daugherty said Warner Bros. enthusiastically supported the production from the moment he proposed it. (Courtesy: Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra)"I kind of felt like I never left," Sherman said. "It's like when you go back to your family's house you grew up in. It's just like, 'OK, I'm back home.' " "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony" has played to over 2.5 million people worldwide. The Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra last played the show in 2016, and Daugherty is excited for its return to Fort Worth. "It's been a rough year and a half with none of us performing," Daugherty said. "It's been a long time since these audiences have heard a live symphony orchestra. Our show is very funny because these cartoons are great comic masterpieces. So I hope they get a lot of joy and laughter out of this concert because everyone deserves it." Brooke Colombo is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Her position is supported by grants from the Amon G. Carter and Sid W. Richardson foundations. Contact her at [email protected] or via Twitter.At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here. Fort Worth Report is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization that produces factual, in-depth journalism about city and county government, schools, healthcare, business, and arts and culture in Tarrant County. Always free to read; subscribe to newsletters, read coverage or support our newsroom at fortworthreport.org.