TreeBeard..........

: : I just thought of this! I played a song in high school band that was one movement of the Lord of the Rings Symphony. I now have the CD, and it is really wonderful music. There are five movements:
: : I: "Gandalf"
: : II: "Lothlorien"
: : III: "Gollum"
: : IV: "Journey in the Dark"
: : a: "The Mines of Mona"
: : b: "The Bridge of Khazad-Dum"
: : V: "Hobbits"

: : The CD is from 1989. It's The Lord of the Rings by The Dutch Royal Military Band. Pierre Kuijpers is the director. For all you fans, I highly recommend it. If you need some other bit of info about it, just ask.

: That sounds really cool! I'll have to check it out. One other question: who wrote it?

: In a similar vein, does anyone else think LotR would make a wonderful opera? I do, and in fact it's my ambition to write one someday. (It's not in any stage of planning or anything yet -- just an idea.) It would be difficult to stage, of course, but definitely worth it.

: And a personal note: I've written settings for quite a few of the songs in LotR. I wish you could hear them -- I'm rather proud of them. And the song I'm working on now, while not from LotR, is Tolkien-inspired.