Composer Kyle Wernke fulfills a decades-long dream project for Lehigh University Philharmonic.
For most composers, the period between childhood ambition and professional achievement spans years of refinement and compromise. For music professor Kyle Wernke, it's taken decades to finally realize a vision that first sparked when he was just 16 years old.
Wernke, who leads the Lehigh University Philharmonic, is composing an ambitious multi-movement orchestral work that reads like an ode to film music. Each movement represents a different part of a movie script, from main titles to plot twists, all unified by a single musical theme that weaves through various cinematic genres. The Philharmonic will premiere the work April 24, 2026, in Zoellner Arts Center’s Baker Hall. For Wernke, it represents both the fulfillment of a decades-old dream and a bridge between the classical tradition and the cinematic language that first inspired him to become a composer.
“Music for Imaginary Movies” draws inspiration from some of film’s finest scores. The composition doesn't follow a strict chronological path through film history. Rather, Wernke, assistant professor of music, draws inspiration from specific works that have moved him: the Western movement channels "High Noon" and "Silverado," while another movement takes cues from 1962’s "Mutiny on the Bounty." A superhero movement draws heavily from John Williams's Superman scores.
Read the full story on the College of Arts and Sciences News.
Spotlight Recipient
Kyle Wernke
Assistant Professor