The Southeast Ohio History Center is Selling Tickets to its Signature Event

Athens, Ohio – September 25, 2018:  On Sunday, October 28, 2018, the Southeast Ohio History Center’s powerful pipe organ will sing out as renowned professional organist Dennis James performs the accompanying score of a classic silent film. The evening, which promises to be entertaining, is the signature fundraising event for the History Center. Doors will open at 5:30pm for a social hour, which will include hors d’oeuvres and drinks, a silent auction, and a dueling organ and piano concert. The movie begins at 7:00pm with a live auction taking place during the intermission.

“Last year’s event, Phantom of the Opera, was a tremendous success,” says History Center Executive Director Tom O’Grady. “Our Great Hall took on the characteristics of a 1920s movie palace in a tribute to Hollywood silent films. We packed the place.” Starring the incomparable master of the macabre, Lon Chaney, and featuring a cast of 50 principal players and over 500 extras, the film was presented as it was originally seen in its initial release.

This year’s film will be the 1920 classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starring Hollywood’s legendary leading man, John Barrymore. The silent film captures Robert Louis Stephenson’s tale of an internally conflicted physician with a split-personality to end all split-personalities. Barrymore’s tour-de-force characterization will be accompanied by a solo organ score, performed by James, based on a historical compilation of published film music sources.

Says O’Grady, “This year, the event is bigger and better. We have a number of sponsors who are helping to make it a very special evening.”

For more than 40 years Dennis James has played a pivotal role in the international revival of silent films with live music. Beginning as an accompanist for university screenings, James now tours worldwide under auspices of his Silent Film Concerts production company presenting professional silent film programs with accompaniments ranging from solo piano or theatre organ, to chamber ensembles and full symphony orchestras. Performing to film at an ever-increasing number of sites throughout the world, James is celebrated for providing the most comprehensive selection of authentic silent films with live music presentations available today.

James recently performed sellout silent film programs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Orchestra Hall and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra at Meyerson Symphony Center, and his international silent film presentations have been seen most recently in Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, England, Singapore, France, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands and Italy.

Tickets to the event are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Southeast Ohio History Center at 740.592.2280. The price per ticket is $50 for History Center members and $60 for non-members. “They will be going fast,” says O’Grady. “We already have sold more than 30, so I’d suggest that people call soon.”