The award-winning Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra has added performing a Hollywood movie score to its list of accomplishments.
Showings will be held at 4 and 7 p.m. for “Granite Rapids Moon” at Zeus Digital Theaters in Waynesboro on September 4, 2025.
“We didn’t quite know when the release of this film was going to happen,” said WSO Music Director Peter Wilson of the long journey which began 12 years ago.
Wilson’s childhood friend, actor and producer John Meyer (screen name John Charles) has been in television, including “iCarly,” TV crime shows, commercials and independent films. For his first film in 2017, “Dave Made a Maze,” Meyer asked Wilson to collaborate on the music.
Wilson, who loves movie music, often directs the WSO to perform songs from movies for audiences at the Paramount in Charlottesville and churches in Waynesboro and Staunton.
However, the timing was not right for the WSO to collaborate in 2017.
In 2022, Meyer asked Wilson to compose the music for “Granite Rapids Moon.”
“This is like a dream come true of mine,” said Wilson, who has always hoped to compose a movie score, but his preference was to have been involved before the movie was finished so he could be inspired by the film as he composed the score. While another composer signed on, Waynesboro’s symphony was chosen to perform the score. On April 15, 2023, WSO spent three hours upstairs in First Presbyterian Church in Waynesboro recording music for the film.
The symphony actually performed the composer’s music for three scenes of the film at the Paramount in October 2022 for “An Evening on the American Frontier.”
According to Wilson, the film is a fictional story entirely filmed in the Grand Canyon and the first film to have been filmed in the Grand Canyon. Of its 1 hour and 45 minute run time, the symphony is heard for 22 minutes of the film.
“It’s kind of a love letter to the Grand Canyon,” Wilson said of the director, Kenneth Cran, who also wrote the screenplay. The project “is exciting for a small town orchestra that doesn’t get to do this sort of thing.”
During the credits at the end of the film, a screen displays the composer’s name then a screen is devoted to the names and instruments of each member of Waynesboro‘s symphony.
In 2025, Meyer, the director and other cast members embarked on a national tour of showing the film in theaters across the country. Waynesboro’s turn on September 4 is “for the community that supports the orchestra.” Before both showings, Wilson will greet the audience, and a question-and-answer session will follow each showing. In each city the film has visited, Wilson said that the local hiking community was invited to enjoy the film.
A portion of tickets sold will be donated to the Waynesboro Symphony Orchestra to continue to provide music to the local community.
“It’s a wonderful score,” Wilson said of the movie’s music, which he described as a love letter to movie music composers John Barry, who scored “Out of Africa” and “Dances with Wolves,” and John Williams.
Wilson said he is proud of Waynesboro‘s orchestra of all volunteer musicians. The orchestra’s name is also featured in the movie’s poster on marquis across the country.
On January 1, 2026, the film will go to streaming services, however, the immense size of the Grand Canyon is most appreciated when viewed on the big screen.
“It is quite breathtaking,” Wilson said of the film.
Tickets to both Zeus Digital Theaters showings are available online.
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Rebecca Barnabi
