Enjoy Silent Film Night at Gorton Community Center
Submitted by Gorton Community Center
Gorton Community Center recently transformed into an old-time movie theater with live music ringing through the halls.
The Lake Forest College Moving Pictures Orchestra performed under the screen in the John & Nancy Hughes Theater, adding musical accompaniment to the 1921 silent film "Seven Years Bad Luck," with an original score written by Danny Robles.
This was the first silent film shown in the newly renovated theater, and the first collaboration of this kind between Gorton and Lake Forest College.
"We have a state of the art community asset in the John & Nancy Hughes Theater, and we are committed to bringing high-quality film events to Gorton." said Jamie Hall, Gorton film events manager.
The screening was another in a long line of productions curated by Lake Forest College professor Don Meyer. In 2016, the same ensemble performed another Max Linder film with a new score compiled by Professor Meyer at the college and at the Chicago History Museum, and several years earlier, Meyer, the orchestra director, and another student collaborated on a new score for Alfred Hitchcock's silent film "The Lodger." Meyer has also composed original scores for plays and independent contemporary films.
Danny Robles is a sophomore at Lake Forest College majoring in music. Originally from Woodstock, his family recently moved to Lake Forest. At the college, Danny is active in several ensembles, including the Jazz Ensemble, where he is the pianist.
"This kind of collaboration is at the heart of what we like to do here at Gorton, and this kind of high quality presentation made for a spectacular evening," Gorton's Executive Director Amy Wagliardo said. "It attracted a diverse audience of community members from families with school-aged children to seniors. We'll definitely do it again next year. We can't wait."
More information about Gorton's film events can be found at www.gortoncenter.org/film.
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