Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra to Perform During Screening of 'The Vanishing American'

The Mont Alto Orchestra, a quintet of classically trained musicians from Boulder,Colorado, will be providing live accompaniment during the premiere of their orchestral arrangement for the 1925 silent classic film, The Vanishing American,  at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 7, in Giffels Auditorium, as part of the University of Arkansas’s 19^th annual Native American Symposium.

The Mont Alto Ragtime and Tango Orchestra was founded as a dance band in 1989. In 1994 the orchestra came across a large collection of donated ‘photoplay’ music and was intrigued. They rented a film, compiled a score, put on a show, and were hooked. Mont Alto has since compiled scores to over 35 silent films, performed at various venues from the Denver International Film Festival to the Buster Keaton Festival in Iola, Kansas, and has participated in the U of A’s Native American symposium since 2005.

The Vanishing American was filmed on location in Arizona in 1925, and features the Navajo people in a contemporary story. Based on the popular Zane Grey novel by the same name, The Vanishing American raises disturbing questions about prevalent attitudes towards Native Americans even while it tries to be sympathetic towards them. This mixed message makes The Vanishing American particularly worthy of continued and thoughtful discussion.

The screening and performance are sponsored by  the Honors Film Association, Native American Student Association, ASG, Office of Admissions, Honors College, Center for Arkansas Regional Studies, U of A Law School, and College of Engineering.