Anime concert

A while back I bought a box set of the films of Ghibli Studios, featuring the work of Hayao Miyazaki. The set has fourteen beautiful animated cartoons, some of them of feature film length. The three best known films are probably Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. My kids love these films.

Recently I saw a poster for a youth orchestra performing selected works from Studio Ghibli films, plus music from the Final Fantasy series of computer games. The performance would be played simultaneously with footage from the films. (Concert information, have a look at the video).

I don't think my boys have the patience to sit through something of the length of a usual classical program, so I thought that seeing the films they know and love on a screen would make it more interesting, help them enjoy the experience of live classical music, and give them an idea of what they can do if they keep practising piano and music.

So on Sunday, the four of us went to see the concert. Tickets are very expensive even for the C class, so I arrived early - 12 noon, even though the concert started at 3pm. That meant I was first in line and I could choose the best seats - ones on the closest corner so my boys can clearly see the orchestra. Good thing I took a book and a fold-up chair!

The concert was good. The orchestra were very good, with a good balance, expression , accuracy and proficiency. The 1st violinist did a top job. The piano could have been a lot louder - I think it should have been miked. The editing of video for the screen could have been done more carefully and I think the idea would work better if the orchestra played in sync with the video, but it was still really enjoyable. I don't think it was quite worth the $180 we paid for tickets for four, but I hope it's one of those events which my boys will clearly remember later, when they think back about their childhood.