MORE THAN 8,000 ATTEND LORD OF THE RINGS IN SYMPHONY

Los Angeles, CA, March 15, 2004 - Howard Shore launched the European Tour of 'The Lord Of The Rings Symphony: Six Movements for Orchestra and Chorus' in Antwerp, Belgium on April 16th at the Antwerp Sportpaleis. Shore recently won two Oscars at the 76th Academy Awards, (Best Score and Best Song - Into The West - performed by Annie Lennox) for The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King which follows his Oscar win for Best Score for The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring.

'The Lord Of The Rings Symphony: Six Movements For Orchestra and Chorus' was organized in Belgium by the Flanders International Film Festival in association with the Flemish Radio Orchestra. The Flanders International Film Festival focuses on the impact of music on film. Previously they have produced large concerts for award winners Hans Zimmer, Elmer Bernstein, Elliot Goldenthal, Maurice Jarre, Patrick Doyle, Michael Kamen and Ennio Morricone, to name a few.

After four years of writing the music for the trilogy, 'The Lord Of The Rings Symphony: Six Movements For Orchestra and Chorus' was realized by Shore- each movement corresponding to each book within J.R.R. Tolkien's tome. The concert in Antwerp, featured 200 performers on stage, including soloist Sissel, the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the choirs FineFleur and Koor&Stem and numerous instrumental and vocal soloists. The performance incorporates the imagery of renowned Tolkien artist, Alan Lee. Upcoming concert tour cities in 2004 & 2005 include: London, Sydney, Amsterdam, Central Park in New York; Philadelphia, the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood, CA and Seville, among others.

Howard Shore was also honored with 2 Golden Globe Awards for 'Best Original Score' and 'Best Original Song' ('Into The West') from The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King. In addition, he also received the 'Best Score' Award from the Broadcast Film Critics and the Chicago Film Critics for the film.

For the first film in the trilogy, The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, Shore won the Oscar, the Grammy, the Los Angeles and Chicago Film Critics Awards and most recently was awarded the Grammy for The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers.

The soundtracks for The Fellowship Of The Ring and The Two Towers have sold over 3 million albums worldwide and both albums have remained on the Billboard Top 100 Soundtracks chart since their original release in 2001 and 2002, respectively. The U.K.'s Classic FM voted The Lord Of The Rings soundtracks 'Best Film Score of All Time' for two consecutive years.

At the Flanders International Film Festival in 2002, Shore received World Soundtrack Awards for 'Best Original Soundtrack of the Year' for The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, and the 'Public Choice Award' in 2003 for The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers.

Shore has composed the scores to more than 60 films including The Silence Of The Lambs and Philadelphia, directed by Jonathan Demme; Ed Wood, directed by Tim Burton; Seven, The Game and Panic Room, directed by David Fincher; and Gangs of New York and After Hours, directed by Martin Scorsese. He has also collaborated on ten films with David Cronenberg including The Fly, Dead Ringers, eXistenZ and Spider. His other films also include the well loved comedies Analyze This, Mrs. Doubtfire and Big.

Shore's upcoming projects include Martin Scorsese's The Aviator and Peter Jackson's King Kong.