TSO Presents 007-themed Show Next Weekend

Hilary Kole grew up watching the James Bond movies. Who didn’t grow up watching James Bond movies?

However, the vocalist also created the iteration of the “Music of James Bond” event she’ll be performing as a part of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra’s SuperPops! Series, which is something fewer people can lay claim to.

“People have a really deep connection, especially over the last 40 years, to these movies and what they mean,” she said. "It kind of unites everyone, as far as you could be 20 or you could be 80, and you’re a Bond fan.”

She first performed a version of the James Bond show with the Charleston Symphony, and when she realized how much the audience connected to it (and how much fun she had) she wanted to do more. She developed a new arrangement with the arranger, wrote all of the in-between segments (she shares facts about the franchise and actor throughout the show) and started performing it.

“I’m always looking for new, fun things,” she said. “To me, it’s always my job to entertain the people who are coming, but to do it at the highest musical level possible.”

Her favorite part, she said, is getting to sing so many different kinds of music over the course of one show, from Louis Armstrong to Shirley Bassey to Adele.

“You have 60 years of some of the biggest starts in the world kind of giving their talent to the Bond franchise,” she said. “The truth is, it really is all about the music.”

The Music of James Bond will be performed by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, with Scott Terrell conducting and Hilary Kole on vocals. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29, both at the Tucson Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are available on the TSO website for $15 to $78.