The Simpson College Department of Music is presenting the Vivo Chamber Players Orchestra for a special performance on February 8th, accompanying the silent film The Mothering Heart.

The performance will be orchestrated by Dr. John Benoit, and he tells KNIA News he is a silent film buff and that inspired him to include this as part of the show.

“If we were around in the 1910’s/20’s before the talkies came out this would be standard practice, although normally they wouldn’t do as much timing out and composing as I am doing. They would just play a piece and start and stop when a scene changed. Since I have the advantage today of being able to watch the movie back and forth, I can work out the timings. It’s still a challenge, but it’s a lot of fun.”

The performance will also include a performance of Mother and Child by the strings musicians, and a wind trio piece. The performance will take place at Lekberg Hall in the Amy Robertson Music Center beginning at 7pm. The performance is free and open to the public.