The Cleveland Institute of Music will host a free screening of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial next month, with its CIM Orchestra performing John Williams' Academy Award-winning score live as the film plays. The event is set for Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m. in Kulas Hall, and while admission costs nothing, attendees are required to have tickets in hand.
According to Cleveland.com, the score will be performed in sync with the film, which will be projected on a large HD screen at the Cleveland Institute of Music, 11021 East Boulevard. The outlet notes that the film follows the story of a lost alien who befriends a 10-year-old boy named Elliott, the Steven Spielberg classic that turned Williams' music into one of the most recognizable film scores ever written.
Conductor Brings Hollywood Credits to Kulas Hall
Anthony Parnther will conduct the CIM Orchestra for the performance, per the same report. Parnther was named principal guest conductor of the orchestra, according to CIM, a role in which he conducts one orchestra program each academic year. CIM's announcement notes that Parnther has led recording sessions for scores including Oppenheimer, Encanto, The Mandalorian, Avatar: The Way of Water and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Parnther isn't new to CIM's stage. The institute's spring season materials identify him as the guest conductor who opened the new year's programming on Feb. 24, 2026, per CIM's announcement of its spring 2026 concert season. That same release described most of CIM's events as free, though tickets were still required — a pattern echoed in the institute's fall lineup.
Film Night Caps Off a Season of Changes
CIM's fall 2026 season announcement folded the E.T. screening into a broader slate, describing Nov. 20 as Film Night and noting that Parnther, as newly appointed principal guest conductor, would lead the orchestra for the occasion, according to the institute's 2026 fall season announcement. The same announcement reiterated that most fall performances are free with tickets required. The season also marks a leadership shift at CIM, with Tito Muñoz appointed director and principal conductor of the CIM Orchestra effective fall 2026.
For those hoping to catch Elliott and his extraterrestrial friend on the big screen with a live orchestra underneath, tickets are available now, Cleveland.com reports. Each person is limited to four tickets, and the outlet notes that duplicate orders may be subject to release — so showing restraint at checkout could be the difference between landing a seat in Kulas Hall and missing out on one of the fall season's marquee nights.
