The Portland Symphony Orchestra will be playing live for screenings of two blockbuster films, both featuring scores by revered composer John Williams.

First up this weekend is Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park,” with guest conductor Connor Gray Covington of Boston.

In March, PSO will accompany 1980’s “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.” The guest conductor will be Chia-Hsuan Lin, music director of the Rochester (Minnesota) Symphony and principal guest conductor of the Richmond (Virginia) Symphony.

“Empire,” the cinematic masterpiece written by George Lucas and directed by Irvin Kershner, is considered by many — including me — to be the finest entry in the “Star Wars” canon. I rewatched the entire film a few nights ago, and it hasn’t lost any of its splendor.

NO. 1 FAN

It’s also the all-time favorite film of PSO principal cellist Brent Selby.

Early on in our lengthy conversation, I realized Selby was no ordinary fan.

“I am obsessed with ‘Star Wars'” he declared.

Indeed, the Force is strong with him.

HOW IT STARTED

“In the beginning, on a farm far, far away, I grew up on a farm in North Carolina, and I always have been fascinated, from the age of 5 years old, with ‘Star Wars,'” Selby said.

Selby described himself as a rambunctious child, and says his mother had to deal with a kid who was constantly in motion. Then one day, everything changed.

“The first time I remember actually sitting down for more than five seconds and giving my full, undivided attention to anything was when “Star Wars: A New Hope” came on the television. I sat there the whole time, and I remember the very first moment that I felt something when I heard music,” he recalled.

He noted the binary sunset scene with Luke Skywalker on his home planet of Tatooine. “He was this farm boy that was looking out to the future and wondering what kind of adventure he was going to be called for. It’s funny because I became a musician, I thought that being a musician was the closest thing to actually being a Jedi because music to me was the Force.”

The thought of playing the “Empire” score live in front of an audience is putting Selby into orbit. “To say that I’m excited is an understatement about ‘Empire Strikes Back'”.

Selby also shared a fun fact about the “Empire” score: It is the first time audiences hear “The Imperial March.” That music was not played in “Star Wars: A New Hope.”

Selby, 38, lives in Franklin, Massachusetts, and has been playing with PSO for the past few years. He also plays with the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Boston Lyric Opera, and teaches cello at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.

From a technical standpoint, Selby said that playing anything “Star Wars”-related is a challenge. “There’s always a lot going on, a lot of notes, a lot of moving parts and you really rely heavily on the conductor.”

In 2025, the PSO performed along with the original “Star Wars” film. Selby said there was an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia, and the energy of the audience was palpable, even from the stage. “You really felt like you were at the movies even though you had a job to do.”

One of Selby’s favorite scenes from “Empire” is Luke learning the true identity of his father. When Selby showed the film to his two nieces, who are 5 and 10 years old, they were rattled.

“They both looked up at me with their big doe eyes and said ‘Uncle Brent, is that real?’ and I told them ‘Search your feelings, you know it to be true.'”

The music of the horns, then the strings, punctuate Skywalker’s despair as the film nears its ending.

Selby was also enraptured by the first time “Yoda’s Theme” is heard in the film. “It almost pulls you up out of your seat, when he’s lifting up the X-wing.”

Selby says if he ever had a chance to meet Williams, he knows what he’d say. “I would say he is a major reason I play the cello and that I became a musician. John Williams inspired me to be a musician back when I was a little kid. His music is what really called me to it.”

JURASSIC JOY

Although Selby won’t be playing this weekend when PSO tackles “Jurassic Park,” dozens of other musicians will be, and tickets are dwindling.

The first is the best of the “Jurassic” film series, and I’ve watched it at least a half-dozen times. Between the breathtaking scene when Sam Neill and Laura Dern first see the dinosaurs, to pretty much every Jeff Goldblum line, “Jurassic Park” is a thrill ride, elevated by its score.

Take, for instance, the opening scene, when a creature is transferred from a high-tech cage into a fenced area of the park. We never get a good look at what’s in that cage, though I suspect it’s a velociraptor. The score creates an acute layer of tension, suspense and blood-chilling fear. Ominous horns and a whirling dervish of strings are the gateway to the rest of the film.

Then consider the familiar “Welcome to Jurassic Park” scene when Richard Attenborough’s character shows Goldblum, Dern and Neill what he’s created. The score shifts from mysterious and dramatic to majestic wonder and awe.

I listened again to the score and was reminded of how the scenes are all enhanced by the music, especially “Journey To The Island,” “Dennis Steals The Embryo” and “Eye To Eye.”

To think that PSO will be playing all this music live, while the film is projected on screens for an audience, is downright overwhelming. I may have to follow paleobotanist Ellie Sattler’s advice and put my head between my knees and breathe.

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IF YOU GO

‘Jurassic Park’ In Concert

7 p.m. Saturday, 1 p.m. Sunday. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland, $59-$108. porttix.com.

‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back’ In Concert

7 p.m. March 14, 1 and 7 p.m. March 15. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland, $66-114. porttix.com.