Vibrant, cozy scenes of Chihiro from “Spirited Away” navigating the unfamiliar Spirit World are projected above the stage as the Symphonic Orchestra fills the room with the comforting and tranquil sounds of “One Summer’s Day.” The orchestra’s annual movie concert was held on Thursday, Feb. 12 in the Performing Arts Center.
This year’s theme for the concert, “A Tribute to Joe Hisashi,” showcased composer Joe Hisashi’s scores performed as originally written, rented from an overseas music company. Touching into childhood nostalgia and emotions, the concert theme centered around Hisashi’s pieces from Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988), “Spirited Away” (2001), “Kiki’s Delivery Service” (1989) and “Howl’s Moving Castle” (2004) as well as the film “Kikujiro” (1999). Alongside playing the music of Hisashi, scenes from the corresponding films were projected above the stage.
“I feel that for this theme, more people have watched the movies as compared to other themes that we’ve done,” Instrumental Music Council (IMC) orchestra vice president bassist senior Natalia Avila said. “I’ve personally never seen any of the movies, but just seeing the [clips] and hearing the emotions from the songs, I can kind of understand all the themes of happiness and connection that were reflected in [them].”
The concert opened with the main theme of “My Neighbor Totoro,” a timeless warm and joyful piece of childhood nostalgia and hope featuring pianist junior Aileen Lyu and trumpist sophomore Jeffrey Koo. Transitioning into a more melancholic and mellow tone reflecting Chihiro’s transformative journey in a new world, the orchestra played “One Summer’s Day” from “Spirited Away,” featuring cellist senior Suki Hsu on the piano.
With a whimsical tone and a hint of jazz capturing the liberty of finding independence and battling insecurities, “A Town with an Ocean View” from “Kiki’s Delivery Service” featured various upbeat interchanging melodies from all instruments. Soloists included Hsu, violinist senior Thompson Lee, Lyu, violist sophomore Rachel Lin, violinist freshman Justin Peng and IMC president bassist senior Ava Waggoner. Stemming away from the soundtracks of Miyazaki’s films, the orchestra performed “Summer” from “Kikujiro,” featuring pizzicato and wistful melodies reminiscent of the film’s story of a little boy’s journey to self discovery.
“My favorite piece was ‘A Town with an Ocean View’ from ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service.’ That piece was one of the most challenging to learn and to line up with the video,” band and orchestra director Katie Takahashi said. “I think the students really did a great job in putting that piece together and it ended up being one of the best in the concert.”
For the concert finale, the orchestra played the Symphonic Variations of “Merry Go Round of Life” from “Howl’s Moving Castle,” featuring IMC band president clarinetist senior Keegan Beecher, trombonist junior Kevin Gao, IMC orchestra vice president violinist senior Gabriel Gonzalez, bassoonist junior Nav Kaur, Koo, oboist senior Emma Pasaporte and IMC media team member french hornist sophomore Amber Yang. The piece began with different arrangements and variations of the piece’s main theme in different intensities before transitioning into the well-known original melody—grand and memorable—reflecting the theme of the bittersweet passing of time that life is characterized by.
“I thought the concert was really nice, especially how I could sync my [piano] playing with the rest of the orchestra. Back [in China], there were not these types of opportunities—and for my first time performing I thought it went especially well,” Lyu said. “I liked all the songs [but] did not have a favorite. However, regardless of the songs, for these types of opportunities, I feel like any song chosen will still go very well. On stage, I felt very excited, yet nervous—but that’s normal because with everyone playing and working hard together that eases it.”
