(Un)Silent Film presents the 1927 classic Sunrise, directed by F.W. Murnau, with a compelling, modern score by Joe Kraemer (composer of film scores for The Way of the Gun, Jack Reacher, and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation).

One of the most significant directors of the silent film era, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau created this romantic and suspenseful film, which won three Academy Awards at the first Oscars ceremony. Sunrise was named the fifth greatest film of all time by Sight & Sound. The film stars George O’Brien, Janet Gaynor, and Margaret Livingston.

*Please note: This is a high-demand, free event.

To accommodate as many guests as possible, any unclaimed reservations will be offered to others soon after the show starts. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to seeing you soon!

We hope you can experience this live. If you, friends or family are unable to attend in-person, please enjoy and share the Livestream of this very special event.

Click here for the Livestream, beginning at 7:30pm on Friday, April 24.

ABOUT JOE KRAEMER

Joe Kraemer is a multi-award winning composer.  Best known for his scores to “Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation” and “Jack Reacher”, he has written music for over 100 feature films, television series, and documentaries, in addition to production music that has been included in dozens of other programs.  He has written also concert works for a variety of soloists and orchestras, including “Sonnenfinsternis (For Bass Trombone)”, “An American Childhood”, “Lux Aeterna 149 (For Soprano and Orchestra)”, “Fanfare for Symphonova”, and “Alfred Bader: Tribute and Celebration”.  His original score for the 1927 film “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” had its world premier live-to-picture in 2016 with The Dallas Chamber Symphony, and has since been performed all over the world.  He recently premiered a new piece, “Rivers and Dust”, for The Dallas Chamber Symphony, in 2025.

 
Accolades include “Discovery of the Year” at The World Soundtrack Awards in 2016, BMI Composer awards in 2012 and 2015 for “Jack Reacher” and “Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation”, “Action Score of the Year” from the IFMCA (International Film Music Critics Association) in 2015 for “Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation”, and the Youth Concerts at Symphony Hall award in 1993.  He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Berklee College of Music.  He was born in Buffalo, NY, and now lives in London, UK.

PROGRAM NOTES BY JOE KRAEMER
Composing a score for the classic 1927 film SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS was a unique opportunity for me, in that it was a chance to write something that was almost entirely my vision for a score.  Typically, in my career as a film composer, I have worked with producers and directors who also have a vision for the music, and the final result has been a score that has likely been compromised by everyone involved in an effort to please multiple masters.

 
The Dallas Chamber Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Richard McKay, approached me in 2016 to write a new underscore for this silent film, with the only ‘restriction’ being that I should keep the number of musicians to around 15;  in the end, I was able to use 17 musicians:  5 woodwinds, 4 brass, 5 strings, piano, harp and percussionist.  Other than that, I was allowed to follow my own inspiration and write whatever I felt was appropriate.  Since the film was almost 90 years old at that point, I was not beholden to anyone from the original production.  For better or worse, I only had to please myself. 

 
Early in the summer of 2016, I had an opportunity to travel to Europe, and I took great inspiration from the culture I experienced there, drawing on the pastoral feelings evoked by rural Austria, and the hustle and bustle of Paris.  But, of course, the film was shot in California, mostly in Hollywood, so I also drew on my American upbringing.  Astute listeners may hear the influence of J. Strauss, E. Grieg, A. Copland and G. Gershwin as the score unfolds.

 
One unique factor in the composition of this score was that is was written to be performed live, so I had to consider the pacing of the music and the effect that would have on the musicians.  I wanted to make sure I wasn’t asking so much of them too early, lest they have nothing left to give halfway through the score.

 
Another challenge was balancing the size of a chamber group with the expansive sound expected from a Hollywood movie.  I found that the instrumental lineup I chose gave me a wide palette of textures to choose from, allowing me to be small and intimate when needed, but also to expand to the wide-open sweep of a big melody for those movie moments that needed it.

 
I am grateful to the New School for providing an opportunity for musicians to perform this music on its 10th anniversary, and for audiences to hear it live.  This film was made in the dawn of recorded media, when live performance was still the primary way people experienced music and drama, and even though the music was written much more recently, it was composed with live performance specifically in mind.  I hope seeing and hearing it is as special for you as writing it was for me.

Joe Kraemer
London, UK. March 2026

The (Un)Silent Film series at The New School College of Performing Arts has been critical in advancing the resurgence of film screenings with live music and has been hosted by Matthew Broderick, Bill Irwin, Rob Bartlett, Ed Rothstein, and Michael Bacon.

(Un)Silent Film nights have presented the world premieres of works composed for The Birds and The Immigrant (by Nathan Kamal and Alexis Cuadrado, respectively), a New York premiere of a score by Hollywood composer Craig Marks for the film Sherlock, Jr., and Charlie Chaplin's original scores for Gold Rush and other Chaplin classics. In Spring 2024, (Un)Silent presented the world premiere of a new score to the iconic film Metropolis, composed by Mannes student Amir Sanjari. In Fall 2024, the acclaimed Philip Glass score to Tod Browning's 1931 film classic Dracula, originally composed for the Kronos Quartet, was performed live to film by the Orange Road Quartet. The brilliant Carl Davis scores presented by (Un)Silent Film include Safety Last!, Kid Auto Races at Venice, Steamboat Bill, Jr. and One Week.