The Harry Potter Film Concert Series returns to DeVos Performance Hall with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert, the third film in the Harry Potter series. On Friday and Saturday, Feb. 9-10, 2018, the Grand Rapids Symphony will perform the magical score live from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban while the entire film plays in high-definition on a 40-foot screen. The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, which is another magical experience from J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, kicked off in June 2016 with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and is scheduled to include hundreds of performances across more than 35 countries around the world through 2018.

“When the Grand Rapids Symphony brought the Harry Potter Film Concert Series to town last year, we sold out three performances of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in Concert,” said Peter Perez, President and CEO of the Grand Rapids Symphony. “Afterwards, the Symphony’s Facebook page lit up with comments from fans who said it was ‘absolutely phenomenal.’ We’re thrilled to be able to bring the Harry Potter Film Concert Series back to DeVos Performance Hall along with our fabulous Grand Rapids Symphony.”

In Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry, Ron and Hermione, now teenagers, return for their third year at Hogwarts, where they are forced to face escaped prisoner, Sirius Black, who seems to pose a great threat to Harry. Harry and his friends spend their third year learning how to handle a half-horse, half-eagle creature known as a Hippogriff, repel shape-shifting Boggarts and master the art of Divination. They also visit the wizarding village of Hogsmeade and the Shrieking Shack, which is considered the most haunted dwelling in Britain. In addition to these new experiences, Harry faces a werewolf and must overcome the threats of the soul-sucking Dementors. With his best friends, Harry tackles advanced magic, crosses the barriers of time and impacts the course of life-changing events for those around him.

Earning an Oscar-nomination for the score, the spellbinding and incredible music composed by John Williams became an instant classic, conjuring beautiful, soaring motifs that continue the adventures of Harry Potter on his magical journey.

This film concert series has been created by CineConcerts, in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and will be conducted by its creator and Producer, Justin Freer. He explains, “The Harry Potter film series continues to be a once-in-a-lifetime cultural phenomenon that delights millions of fans around the world. It is with great pleasure that we introduced for the first time ever an opportunity to experience the award-winning music scores played live by a symphony orchestra, all while the beloved film is simultaneously projected onto the big screen. This will be another unforgettable event.”

Brady Beaubien of CineConcerts and Concert Producer for the Harry Potter Film Concert Series added, “Harry Potter is synonymous with excitement around the world, and we hope that by performing this incredible music with the full movie, audiences will enjoy returning to this world, and to the many wonderful magical characters that inhabit it.”

Tickets, starting at $18, are now on sale for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in Concert. Call the Grand Rapids Symphony at (616) 454-9451 ext. 4 or go online to GRSymphony.org for tickets for performances at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 9, and at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2018.

For more information on the Harry Potter Film Concert Series, please visit www.harrypotterinconcert.com.