Twenty-five years after the Fellowship first set out on screen, San Diego is revisiting the journey through its music. Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings brings a live string-quartet tribute to the San Diego Natural History Museum, celebrating the film’s anniversary with the iconic melodies of the epic trilogy. Now, San Diegans will have a chance to relive their favorite scenes close to home.
The Fellowship of the Ring opened in US theaters on December 19, 2001. Directed by Peter Jackson and adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel, the film introduced audiences to Elijah Wood’s Frodo Baggins and the companions who join his quest to destroy the One Ring. It also launched a trilogy that continued with The Two Towers in 2002 and The Return of the King in 2003.
Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings
Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings
3 January 2027 18:30 + more dates
San Diego Natural History Museum
The Lord of the Rings soundtrack in 13 tracks
Candlelight: The Lord of the Rings recreates the legendary music from The Lord of the Rings trilogy, played live by a local string quartet in a candlelit room, for about an hour. Fever and Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences co-present it to mark the trilogy’s 25th anniversary.
Structured around the emotional core of the films, the setlist journeys through home, friendship, love, and farewell. You’ll hear the music of the Shire in “Concerning Hobbits,” the heavy sacrifices of the Fellowship in “Amon Hen,” and the romance of “Evenstar,” before the night ends on a sweeping, bittersweet note with “Into the West” and “The Grey Havens.”
All 13 pieces are Howard Shore’s film music, reimagined for two violins, a viola and a cello, and Shore himself approved both the setlist and the sheet music.
The Nat: Balboa Park’s natural history museum
Located at 1788 El Prado in the heart of Balboa Park, the San Diego Natural History Museum has quite a striking architecture. While the society behind it dates all the way back to 1874, the museum’s current home is a 1933 William Templeton Johnson original that was massively expanded in 2001. Today, its standout Fossil Mysteries exhibition takes visitors on a 75-million-year journey through the prehistoric landscapes of Southern California and Baja.
