Last
night I went to see the Hartford Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Disney in
Concert at the Bushnell – and it was AWESOME!!!
If you
know me, then you know I’m not only a dedicated Disney fan but also an extreme
film score fanatic (favorites include Alan Menken, Hans Zimmer, John Powell,
Alan Silvestri, Joe Hisaishi, and many more) so this concert was definitely my
cup of tea. Not only did it feature all of my favorite songs from when I was growing
up, but they also projected some of the scenes from the animated films. With
all the craziness of the last semester these soundtracks had sort of evaded my
playlist for a while, so it was great to rediscover my love of Disney music.
It was
also fantastic to see all the kids that came out to see the show with their
families. Normally working music events at college, I rarely see children in
the audience, so I’m glad this was an opportunity for kids to experience the
sound of a live orchestra.
The
program included excerpts and songs from:
The Little Mermaid
Pocahontas
Beauty and the Beast (one of my favorites, but I
started having flashbacks to my days as a dancing spoon my junior year of high
school)
The Jungle Book
Mary Poppins
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Frozen (an addition to the million
and one versions of Let it Go I’ve
heard, but I could deal with it. First time I’ve heard it live I suppose)
Aladdin
Pirates of the Caribbean
And Last
but not least,
The Lion King
…Let’s
just take a moment to appreciate the sheer genius of all this music. Especially
Alan Menken, the Sherman brothers, Hans Zimmer, and Klaus Badelt.
…
…
…
Ok
moving on,
It was
all great. Disney adventure, no expensive trip to Disney World required!
And
while the guest vocalists they brought in were very talented and entertaining,
my favorite parts of this concert had to be the parts where it was just the
orchestra playing. Namely, the suites from the Hunchback of Notre Dame and
Pirates of the Caribbean. It doesn’t get much better than Disney and a live
orchestra.

One of
the reasons that this music means so much to me is that as a kid when I first
started playing the flute, these were the melodies that I practiced in my free
time (you know, when that was still a thing). Solo for a concert? Disney.
Christmas presents? Disney solo books. This is the music that inspired me to
play. I still remember playing Pirates of
the Caribbean at our 6th grade band concert. It was the first
piece we played that had a trill for the woodwinds and we thought it was the coolest
thing ever. We loved the piece so much that we begged our high school band
directors to play Pirates for three years in high school, and our wish was
finally granted in our senior spring concert.
And
for me, that’s what makes Disney music special. It sticks with you and inspires you no
matter how old you are. Adults will love it, college music students love it, teenagers
love it, and kids won’t get bored sitting in the concert hall for 2 hours.
And
then after you come home whistling “It’s a Small World,” you’re that much more
inspired to get practicing that Mozart concerto. ♫