onstagepittsburgh.com: Casting a spell for conjuring memories, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has partnered with the Disney Corporation to present a Pops concert guaranteed to warm hearts with music that is indeed unforgettable. As Disney marks its 100th anniversary on Monday, October 16, the PSO presented a Pops weekend for the books with essentially the music of our lives.
3 comments:
This would have been so cool to go and see, or I guess hear?! Like an undying record I will say disney is so cool. Yes there are definitely lots and lots of issues within their company, media representation, and many other things, but they are still very cool. This reminds me so much of Joe Hisashi and how he will conduct a live orchestra to play through Studio Ghibli’s music. The music on screen helps transport us to the world the creator wants and carries us through the story. I think it is an incredibly underrated part of modern day media and many people just hear the music and don’t process it in depth, they acknowledge it and move on. So the fact Disney is paying attention to their music and displaying it as its own entity (as it deserves to be) in order to be appreciated, is really wonderful.
I LOVE a live soundtrack experience. This reminds me of the popular Harry Potter symphony experiences, where the movie is played on a large screen over the orchestra while they play the score to the movie. Disney has been the soundtrack of many childhoods, so getting to experience a live orchestra playing that music would be magical. This was definitely a millennial-focused event. My brother and I, born in 1989 and 1992 respectively, were brought up on the movies mentioned in the article. I appreciate that Disney partnered with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on this; it adds a bit of authenticity. Disney is known for storytelling, so this event was likely an immersive experience telling the story of Disney. I think this type of concert is a great way to get younger generations in to live orchestral performances. The live symphony or orchestra is rapidly losing popularity as the main demographic that enjoys those concerts is aging and, sadly, dying off. Bringing popular music and visual aspects into the concerts may help revive what could have been a dying art.
I think that accompanying concerts with movie clips and other objects of visual interest can help encourage people who might never think about attending an orchestra concert to attend the event. One aspect of this is deciding what kind of lighting to use for a concert. The conventional way to light a classical orchestra is with a smooth, warm wash. It is important to make sure that there is plenty of light behind the performers to light their music stands and that there is not too low of front light in order to ensure that the performers are not blinded by the glare of the lights. While this is the traditional way, in recent years it has been experimented with. One example I can think of is performances in the royal albert hall, in which the organ and band are lit using the same kinds of looks and fixtures that would be used in rock and roll or EDM. While this can provide impressive visuals, some argue that it distracts from the auditory experience of the music.
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