Soundtracks can make or break a film. Finding the perfect song, the perfect voice and the perfect genre to fit a film, especially a film dependent on an audience’s feelings, can be difficult. For horror, a soundtrack of joyous and light-hearted songs rarely fit the theme of a film; rather, music that boosts suspense or dread locks a viewer in. Bernard Herrmann’s tense and string-heavy soundtrack for Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 film Psycho did just that.
Thursday, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra will perform that soundtrack live to accompany a screening of the movie. According to no less an expert than Hitchcock himself, “33% of the effect of Psycho was due to the music.” With the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra re-creating Herrmann’s masterpiece, the emotions and sense of ever-present danger in Psycho — particularly in the shower — should be a treat for horror and classical fans alike.
7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 28, Plaza Live, 425 N. Bumby Ave., plazaliveorlando.org, $40.
This article appears in May 27-June 2, 2026.