LOS ANGELES — Like Zorro victoriously raising his sword toward the sky, violinists in the Academy Awards orchestra whipped their bows in the air Thursday night after finishing playing a breathtaking score from Gravity at the first-ever Oscars Concert.
As the 80-piece orchestra entertained at UCLA's Royce Hall, dramatic scenes from the Oscar-nominated space film were displayed on a big screen behind the musicians.
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The performance, arguably the most heart-pumping of the night, was part of a experimental concert experience in which every nominated song and score from this year's nominees got a moment to shine, with composers conducting their own music to a live audience.
"You can't separate the songs from the movies," said hip-hop artist Common, the host of the concert, reiterating the profound impact music has on moviegoers.
The concert was not televised and videos haven't been made available, but Mashable attended and recorded an Instagram video of the orchestra playing the score from sci-fi romance movie Her, composed by Owen Pallett and Arcade Fire's Will Butler.

Aside from the Gravity and Her scores, the orchestra also performed scores from Philomena, Saving Mr. Banks and The Book Thief. Acclaimed composer John Williams — who's known for his scores for Jaws, Star Wars, ET, Schindler's List and Fiddler on the Roof — earned a standing ovation before leading the The Book Thief performance.
Another standout performance came from singer Jill Scott, who sang Pharrell Williams' "Happy" from the animated flick Despicable Me 2, with an adorable assist from young, tutu-wearing backup dancers.

Songwriters of Frozen's "Let It Go," Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, performed the self-empowerment anthem. Idina Menzel will perform the song for the first time on TV during ABC's March 2 broadcast of the Oscars.
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Meanwhile, Cristin Milioti performed "The Moon Song" from Her and Matt Cermanski took on U2's "Ordinary Love" from Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.
Although the concert was not televised this year, the academy has expressed interest in making this event an annual occurrence that will eventually make its way onto TV.
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