Conductor Nicholas Buc travels Back to the Future in the DeLorean.
Camera IconConductor Nicholas Buc travels Back to the Future in the DeLorean. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Nicholas Buc’s Back to the Future buzz with WASO

Tanya MacNaughtonEastern Reporter

AUSTRALIAN composer Nicholas Buc was in New York studying his Masters in Filmscoring at NYU when fans celebrated Back to the Future Day on October 21.

He commemorated the date by walking around the city with a bright pink hoverboard sticking out of his backpack just to see if anybody would notice – a few people got a laugh.

The 33-year-old also had the opportunity to meet some of the film’s cast and crew including Christopher Lloyd (Doc Brown), James Tolkan (Mr. Strickland) and composer Alan Silvestri, who proved an invaluable source of information as Buc prepares to conduct WASO’s Back to the Future concert at Riverside Theatre on November 13 and 14.

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He will lead orchestras in Melbourne and Japan too.

“One of the most fascinating things I learned was that Back to the Future was his (Silvestri’s) first major orchestral score,” Buc said.

“He’d never really written for a symphony orchestra before and was incredibly daunted about the huge task in front of him.

“It was a trial by fire and he was a complete nervous wreck during the scoring process… but he knocked it out of the park.”

Buc said Silvestri had composed 20 minutes of new music for the 30th anniversary concert, where the musical score will be performed during a screening of the film including dialogue and sound effects.

“The original film had very little music in the first half, so he’s gone back and rescored scenes that originally had no music,” he said.

“It’ll be interesting to see if the die-hard fans notice.

“Having the score performed live brings another dimension to these films and creates a real buzz for the audience.

“Hearing them cheer for Marty McFly and laugh out loud at the antics of Doc Brown makes it more fun for us on stage too, so interaction is encouraged.”

Buc will finish his studies in December and said he loved New York’s energy.

“I’ve met some wonderful musical minds, great people in the film music business and seen some fabulous productions,” he said.

“I opened the door for Naomi Watts at a restaurant the other week and didn’t even realise it until my wife pointed out who it was.”

THE ESSENTIALS

What: WASO – Back to the Future

Where: Riverside Theatre

When: November 13 to 14

Tickets: www.ticketek.com.au