The sound of cinema

“Imagine the scene in Jaws when the fin of the shark comes out of the water toward the boat with no music,” said Edmund Stone, explaining the importance of the film score to the film industry and to classical music generally. Stone hosts a program about film music called The Score on All Classical KQAC 89.9 FM. “You would still have the same scene, but you wouldn’t have the same element of fear. It wouldn’t be the same film.”

On Thursday, Feb. 9, Stone will deliver a presentation on the subject at PSU for the Retired Associates of Portland State University. Titled “The Score: Classical Music’s Gateway Drug, a History of Music in the Movies, 1930 to Present Day,” the presentation will focus on the history of music in film.

“Music in film has the effect of taking us emotionally to a place that the director wants us to go,” Stone said. “What I try to do is to help people recognize how important film music is to a movie.”

The Score airs on All Classical every Saturday at 2 p.m. from the Smith Memorial Student Union. The program showcases scores from a variety of films throughout cinema history and often includes anecdotes and interviews with composers. Each weekly spot runs a different theme, according to Andrea Rennie, the station’s executive assistant.

“This week’s show, for example, is called ‘Gridiron Greats,’” Rennie said. “It’s about football films and the music in those films.”

“[The Score] really explores different ways music has been used in movies over the last 80 years or so,” Stone said.

In his presentation for the Retired Associates’ group, Stone will cover the breadth of those 80 years in film music history. He and station CEO Jack Allen will provide a PowerPoint show featuring iconic scenes and the music that accompanies them.

“I find the moments in the best-loved films of history in America and highlight the music moments that go with those scenes,” Stone said.

In addition, Stone will provide details about All Classical’s Earthbound Trip, a yearly cultural expedition hosted by the station, along with the travel company, Earthbound Expeditions. Allen and Stone recently led their previous trip to Scotland and Ireland, which included donors and listeners. That trip will be a topic of conversation, as will their upcoming expedition to Turkey and Greece.

“We have spots available for that trip if people want to sign up and come with us,” Rennie said. “It’s a trip that focuses on arts and culture abroad.”

The presentation is part of the Retired Associates’ ongoing series of events, held the first and second Thursdays of each month during the academic year. Events range from lectures and presentations like Stone’s to concerts and other performances. Recent performers have included local pianist David Rothman and the Oregon Ballet Theatre. Lectures have touched on a range of subjects provided by professors, librarians and authors.

“We’re interested in learning about the world at large,” said Elizabeth Burke of the Retired Associates’ program committee. “We like to bring a variety.”

The Retired Associates group, an organization affiliated with the Portland State Institute on Aging, develops its meetings through the efforts of its program committee. Burke arranged the All Classical presentation by writing the station with a request for an appearance.

The Score, which airs out of Portland, has become nationally syndicated and is distributed to more than 20 markets across the country, according to Rennie. With more than a hundred thousand regular listeners, the program is “probably the most listened-to film music program on radio in America, today,” Stone said.

“Film is America’s favorite art form,” Stone added. “When people hear a film score, they’re transported back to the moment when they saw that film.” ■