29-03-2025
Suspenseful sounds: Live film concert of Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Lodger' comes to Albuquerque Academy
Mar. 28—Some talented New Mexico musicians, including an Albuquerque Academy alumnus, are returning to their roots for a one-night film concert of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog."
Austin, Texas based composer, Joseph V. Williams II, who is originally from Belen, was commissioned by the Austin Classical Guitar Society to write a score for the silent film released in 1927. The piece, which was written for cello, guitar and bass, was designed to be performed live to accompany Hitchcock's film. The inaugural performance of the 90-minute score, in sync with the classic thriller, premiered at the legendary Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas, in 2016. The production will be performed for the first time in Albuquerque on Saturday, April 5, at the Simms Center for the Performing Arts on the Albuquerque Academy campus.
Williams, who is a University of New Mexico graduate, will conduct and play bass on stage with renowned cellist Michal Shein and acclaimed guitarists Scott Borg, Adam Levin, 2002 Albuquerque Academy alumnus Matthew Rohde and Jeremy Mayne, who is an Albuquerque Academy faculty member.
"'The Lodger' is a murder mystery, as one would expect with Hitchcock, loosely inspired by Jack the Ripper," said Mickey Jones, director of Levanta Institute for Music and Creativity at Albuquerque Academy. "It's not like 'Silence of the Lambs.' It's accessible and palatable and teens could come and they wouldn't be afraid. It's an amazing movie."
One of the things that struck Jones about Williams' composition for the silent film is the approach he took in creating the piece.
"Joe is a composer who is really humorous," Jones said. "He writes a lot of music that's very charming and funny, and Hitchcock actually, for making movies that were predominantly mysteries — murder mysteries, suspense thrillers and that kind of thing — he had a sense of humor in his movies, too. People are going to be surprised at the number of laugh-out-loud moments that they will experience along with the suspense and scariness as well."
Levanta Institute at Albuquerque Academy is responsible for bringing the production to Albuquerque.
"I didn't want to just host a conventional concert, because we have a lot of amazing shows and venues in Albuquerque," Jones said. "An event like this where you see this amazing classic movie, which one wouldn't typically see very often, combined with live musicians sitting on stage playing this incredible piece of music, it's just a really unique experience."
Along with presenting distinctive performances, Levanta Institute, founded almost two years ago, offers music and arts courses to the general public on the Albuquerque Academy campus. It also offers private lessons for beginning and experienced musicians and vocalists in woodwinds, classical guitar, Flamenco guitar, voice, strings, songwriting and jazz improvisation.
"From the outset, I didn't want Levanta to be only a music conservatory," Jones explained. "I really wanted it to be about the arts in general and creative pursuits in general. A place and an opportunity for people to come and do all kinds of really interesting creative and artistic things."
Though spring 2025 class registration has concluded, people interested in Levanta Institute programming can learn more by visiting
"We want people at any stage of life, from all over Albuquerque, to know that the Levanta Institute at Albuquerque Academy is a place where they can come and do really fun stuff and learn a lot in a very low-pressure environment, whether it's music, art, or a whole host of other creative activities," Jones said.
