By ED MEZA

The 28th Munich Film Festival is kicking off this year with a musical prelude that will present works from the likes of Ennio Morricone, John Williams and Maurice Jarre and also honor special guest Howard Shore.

The Munich Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Choir, under the direction of maestro Ulf Schirmer, will present excerpts from such classics as "Once Upon a Time in the West," "Star  Wars" and "Doctor Zhivago" as well as from Vangelis' score for "1492: Conquest of Paradise," Jerry Goldsmith's "First Knight" and Miklos Rozsa's "Ben- Hur."

Shore will be on hand at the Cinema in Concert to receive the first-ever Film Music Prize, presented by pubcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk and international distrib Telepool.

The concert will also include selections from Shore's compositions for "The Lord of the Rings," "The Aviator" and "The Fly."

Taking place at Munich's Circus Krone, the Cinema in Concert will top off an entire day devoted to film music.

Organized by Bayerischer Rundfunk, the Filmtonart: Day of Music event includes panels and discussions on wide-ranging topics, from the importance of music in film to music rights and the future legacy of today's film scores.

Guest speakers include composers Reinhold Heil ("Deadwood"), Ralf Wengenmayr ("Vicky the Viking") and Enjott Schneider and director Christian Petzold ("Jerichow").