Composer George Sarah will conduct what Sierra Madre Playhouse bills as the world premiere of his original score for the 1925 silent film "Battleship Potemkin" on Friday, August 14, and Saturday, August 15, both at 8 p.m.

The two performances pair Sergei Eisenstein's landmark Soviet film with a live ensemble of string quartet, vocalists, and electronics, all inside the intimate 99-seat theater just east of Pasadena.

Sarah, an electronic composer and multi-instrumentalist, has built a career bridging electronic, industrial, and classical music. His credits include composing music for the 2008 Beijing Olympics ceremonies, performances at UCLA's Royce Hall, the Getty, LACMA, and SFMOMA, and a regular slot on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic." He previously composed a live score for Carl Dreyer's 1928 silent film "The Passion of Joan of Arc," commissioned by Grand Performances in downtown Los Angeles in 2010, and performed that score at Sierra Madre Playhouse on May 10, 2025.

That earlier collaboration established the working relationship behind the new commission. Artistic and Executive Director Matt Cook described the Playhouse's broader direction in a 2025 Musical America interview, calling its programming "our most ambitious to date" and noting the venue's transformation over 100 years from a silent film house to a performing arts center.

For the "Potemkin" premiere, Sarah will perform on synthesizers and electronics alongside soprano Jenna Hansen, mezzo-soprano Anna Caplan, tenors George Sterne and Sean McDermott, violinists Kaija Hansen and Katie Kim (Hansen also on viola), and cellists Carolyn Regula and Paul Hyun.

Eight performers are named in the Playhouse's announcement, though the venue also describes the vocal group as a "quintet." A fifth vocalist has not been identified.

The film dramatizes a 1905 uprising aboard the Russian battleship Potemkin and is celebrated for its montage editing, particularly the famous "Odessa Steps" sequence. Over the past century it has been paired with numerous scores, including a 2004 soundtrack by the Pet Shop Boys.

Tickets are $30. Sierra Madre Playhouse is at 87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre. For information or tickets, call (626) 355-4318 or visit sierramadreplayhouse.org.