Many things from childhood and adolescence can define who a person is. One of those defining interests for me is the epic story of Harry Potter.
I went to the first movie with my family in November 2001. From that moment on, I was hooked on the tale about the young wizard. Not only will I be a forever fan of the story, but it also led me to discover another favorite pastime — reading.
I wasn’t much of a reader in my youth, preferring to be more active than sitting down with a book. I would read books as required in grade school, but my free time was spent playing in the backyard or watching television. I had plenty of books to choose from. My sister and I always found books in the Scholastic catalogs that sounded interesting, however, I would start them and then get distracted by other activities. I finished a handful of them, but many of them still reside on a bookshelf at my parents with the bookmark marking a page from 15 to 20 years ago.
After the first Harry Potter film, I didn’t leap right into reading the books. My sister was first. She had picked up the book and had read it well before the movie was released. Not wanting to stop the story, Trish quickly finished books two and three and started book four by the time we went to the theater to see “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
Even though Trish tried her best to get me to read the books, I refused — hiding behind old habits. So instead, Trish simply would tell me the difference between the book and the movie. When the second film was released, I still hadn’t caved to Trish’s suggestion I read the book for myself.
However, Trish talked our brother, James, into reading the novels. He decided to start on book two because “he knew enough about book one from the movie.” James flew through book two and three and was trying to convince Trish to let him read book four even though she hadn’t quite finished it.
I loved the movies, and hearing Trish and James talk about the books finally made me reconsidered reading the novels. Being stubborn, I followed in James’s footsteps and started with book three since I’d seen the first two in movie form. I was hooked. As books five through seven were released, I let James and Trish fight over who was going to read the new one first; and then had my turn once they both had finished it. It worked for the three of us.
When it was announced the Des Moines Symphony would be doing a “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: In Concert” at the Civic Center, I knew I had to go. The fact that it landed on Trish and I’s 31st birthday was the cherry on top.
It was a phenomenal experience to watch a movie I fell in love with almost 17 years ago played with a live orchestra. The movie and sound effects were the same, but the music took on a whole new meaning. I enjoy listening to movie scores. You pick up all the subtle changes to the themes throughout the film. Hearing the score played live for the movie was an experience I won’t soon forget.
Trish and I were treated to a family outing at the symphony with our loved ones. It was the best birthday gift I could have received. Now, I hope the Des Moines Symphony will feature “Chamber of Secrets” sometime soon.
Contact Pam Rodgers
at prodgers@newtondailynews.com