(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Symphony presents How to Train Your Dragon in Concert this summer with Lawrence Loh conducting. A winner with audiences and critics alike, the film by DreamWorks is a captivating and original story that combines humor, fire-breathing action, and epic adventure!
Hiccup is a young Viking who defies tradition when he befriends one of his deadliest foes—a ferocious dragon he calls Toothless. Together, these unlikely heroes must fight against all odds to save both their worlds.
How to Train Your Dragon in Concert features this acclaimed film presented in HD, with composer John Powell’s Academy Award-nominated score performed live to picture by a full symphony orchestra in a thrilling experience for all ages.
The performances will take place Friday, July 11, 2025 at 7:00pm at Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown; Saturday, July 12, 2025 at 2:00pm at State Theatre New Jersey in New Brunswick; and Sunday, July 13, 2025 at 2:00pm, at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. Tickets are available for purchase online.
Lawrence Loh was recently named music director of the Waco Symphony Orchestra beginning in the spring of 2024. He has been music director of The Syracuse Orchestra since 2015 and will hold that position until the end of the 2024–25 season. Loh has previously held major conducting positions with the Pittsburgh Symphony, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Syracuse Opera, Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and the Colorado Symphony.
A native of London, John Powell was an accomplished violinist as a child, wrote music for commercials out of school, and assisted composer Patrick Doyle in the early 1990s. He moved to the US in 1997, where he worked on numerous projects for Hans Zimmer and his film music company Remote Control. He co-wrote the score for Antz with Harry Gregson-Williams, and quickly became one of the most desirable, versatile, and exciting composers in town.
Powell was catapulted into the realm of A-list composers by displaying an entirely original voice with his oft-referenced scores to the first installment of Matt Damon’s Bourne trilogy, The Bourne Identity from 2002. He has become the go-to writer for family animated films, scoring such hits as Shrek (co-written with Harry Gregson-Williams), Chicken Run (co-written with Harry Gregson-Williams), Ice Age: The Meltdown, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Bolt, Rio, Happy Feet, Happy Feet Two, and the two first installments of Kung Fu Panda (co-written with Hans Zimmer). His pulsating action music has provided the fuel for Hancock, Green Zone, Stop Loss, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and The Italian Job. His music has also sweetened the romance of Two Weeks Notice and P.S.: I Love You. In 2006 his music empowered X-Men: The Last Stand, lent tenderness to I Am Sam and gripping, real-time drama to United 93.
His infectious score for How to Train Your Dragon earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Powell has also lent his voice to the score of Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Rio 2, directed by Carlos Saldanha, and DreamWorks’ How to Train Your Dragon 2. His work can be found in Warner Bros.’ Pan starring Hugh Jackman, Universal Pictures’ action-thriller Jason Bourne starring Matt Damon, and Fox’s Oscar-nominated animated feature Ferdinand.
Most recently, Powell’s music can be heard in the critically acclaimed final installment of DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, directed by Dean DeBlois.
In addition to his numerous film scores of all genres, Powell has also written concert works for choir and orchestra. A selection of these has been released in June of last year with the album Hubris—Choral Works by John Powell including his deeply moving work A Prussian Requiem.
Film Concerts Live! is a co-venture of IMG Artists and The Gorfaine/Schwartz Agency. Through Film Concerts Live!, IMG and GSA have developed a growing slate of major feature films for presentation in concert venues with orchestras performing the scores live to picture, including classics such as Home Alone (score by John Williams), Back to the Future (score by Alan Silvestri), Apollo 13 (score by James Horner), and The Addams Family (score by Marc Shaiman). They also offer more recent hits such as the three latest Star Trek films and Jurassic World (scores by Michael Giacchino), and the first James Bond films to be presented with a live orchestra: Casino Royale (score by David Arnold) and Skyfall (score by Thomas Newman). Film Concerts Live! delights audiences all over the world with timeless film scores performed by renowned orchestras live in-synch with some of the biggest movies in Hollywood history. With booking, contracting, and marketing oversight and support, Film Concerts Live! is a dynamic brand that ensures every engagement is a complete success! People of all ages can enjoy these beloved films in a whole new way—with thrilling scores filling concert venues everywhere!
New Jersey Symphony is a GRAMMY and Emmy Award-winning orchestra. Under the direction of the Music Director Xian Zhang, the Symphony performs more than 55 concerts at mainstage venues across the state, including Newark, Princeton, New Brunswick, Red Bank, and Morristown, as well as schools and public spaces statewide. Programming at the Symphony reflects an unwavering commitment to diverse communities throughout the state, while providing students unparalleled opportunities to achieve musical excellence through its Youth Orchestra and other education programs. In 2024, the Symphony announced it would continue to deliver its statewide activities from a new, permanent office, rehearsal, and concert space in Jersey City, set to open in 2026.
