On Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, the Jacksonville Symphony will present the world premiere of a newly commissioned orchestral score for the silent film “The Flying Ace” (1926), performed live with a screening of the film in celebration of its 100th anniversary.
Conducted by Music Director Courtney Lewis, the Jacksonville Symphony has commissioned six leading composers to create the new score, each writing music for one of the film’s six reels. Grammy nominee Carlos Simon serves as lead composer, creating the concert’s musical themes and composing the score for the film’s opening reel.
The remaining composers — Jongnic Bontemps, Kathryn Bostic, Nathalie Joachim, Allison Loggins-Hull, and Levi Taylor — will each compose approximately 10 minutes of music for the remaining reels, drawing on Simon’s thematic material while bringing their own musical voices to the work. Advanced silent-film synchronization techniques, including a click track and “punches and streamers,” will allow the conductor and orchestra to precisely align the live performance with the film projected above the stage. This is made possible with support from Sync Technology Development & Playback technician Grant O’Brien.
Five of the six composers met in Jacksonville in September 2026 to attend readings of the new score.
The concert revives a remarkable artifact of American cinema history. “The Flying Ace” is the only surviving feature-length film of the nine produced by Jacksonville’s Norman Studios, one of the first studios in the United States dedicated to films featuring Black actors in leading roles portrayed with dignity and heroism rather than the stereotypes common in mainstream films of the era.
Filmed in Jacksonville’s historic Old Arlington neighborhood and in nearby Mayport, “The Flying Ace” stars Laurence Criner as Capt. Billy Stokes, a decorated World War I pilot who returns home to resume his work as a railroad detective. When a payroll agent disappears along with a satchel containing $25,000, Stokes must solve the mystery and rescue the heroine, Ruth Sawtelle, played by Kathryn Boyd, in a dramatic aviation showdown.
The film’s story was inspired in part by aviation pioneer Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman to earn a pilot’s license in the United States. Filmmaker and Norman Studios founder Richard E. Norman, also a noted inventor, had discussed the idea of an aviation film with Coleman before her death in a 1926 plane crash in Jacksonville.
Norman modeled the character of Ruth Sawtelle on Coleman and released “The Flying Ace” later that same year.
Norman produced the film at his studio complex in Arlington (now part of Jacksonville), a five-building facility originally constructed in 1916 as Eagle Film City. After purchasing the property in 1923, he transformed it into the headquarters of the Norman Film Manufacturing Company.
Today, the Norman Studios Silent Film Museum complex remains one of the few surviving silent film studio sites in the United States, preserving a remarkable chapter of both film history and African-American cultural history.
With the commissioning of a new score and the live orchestral presentation of “The Flying Ace,” the Jacksonville Symphony reconnects the city with its motion picture legacy, bringing a landmark of early American cinema back to life for contemporary audiences.
In advance of the performance, the Jacksonville Symphony will present a series of free community engagement events exploring the film’s history and the creation of its new score.
On Tuesday, Nov. 10, the University of North Florida will host a panel discussion at Lazzara Performance Hall in the Fine Arts Center, free and open to the public. The Norman Studios Silent Film Museum will follow on Wednesday, Nov. 11, with an evening that includes a panel discussion, a Symphony ensemble performance and audience Q&A.
On Thursday, Nov. 12, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens will present a viewing of Norman Studios film posters alongside a panel discussion, a Symphony ensemble performance, Q&A and a reception.
Several of the “Flying Ace” composers will take part in the panel discussions. The Symphony will also offer masterclasses on film score composition and sync technology, with dates to be announced.
