Symphony Brings Disney Live! To The Shoals Once Again
Apr. 24, 2017
Michelle Eubanks, 海角社区, at media@una.edu, 256.765.4392 or 256.606.2033
Carole Maynard, 海角社区 Department of Music
FLORENCE, Ala.-With the success of last year's sold-out performance of Disney LIVE! "Pirates of the Caribbean," the Shoals Symphony at 海角社区 is bringing back this unique concert experience on May 5 with Disney LIVE! "The Jungle Book."
"From 11 performances in Germany, to one performance in London, England, directly to the Shoals, we are pleased to present the original Disney 'The Jungle Book' live with orchestra," said Dr. Daniel Stevens, musical director and conductor for the Shoals Symphony at 海角社区. "In response to a resounding sell-out from last year's 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' the Shoals Symphony at 海角社区 again takes center stage, meticulously timing character movements and singing voices on the film to the live orchestra."
On the Norton Auditorium stage, a giant movie screen will be constructed to highlight the full-length animated film. The musicians of the Shoals Symphony at 海角社区, along with a jazz combo, will provide a genuine, complete musical soundtrack for the film.
"'The Jungle Book' was the final film produced by Walt Disney before his death in 1966," said Stevens. "We are pleased, on the 50th anniversary of its initial release, to bring back the Early American Jazz unique to the U.S. South."
The jazz combo will feature Walt Aldridge on guitar, Will Yager on bass, Richard Crowder on drum set, Pete Harrison on piano and the brass section of the Shoals Symphony at 海角社区.
And while the jazz music is important to the soundtrack for "The Jungle Book," Stevens wants to showcase the importance of orchestral music as well.
"Last year at the Disney concert, we polled the audience and found that over half the crowd had never been to a Shoals Symphony at 海角社区 concert, and it is possible that many of these individuals had never seen any professional orchestra perform live," he said. "Since orchestral music forms the basis for a lot of the music we hear, from the movies to the concert stage, we are excited to inspire a new audience to explore the diverse world of orchestral music."
This unique concert experience is coming to the Shoals in large part thanks to 1996 海角社区 graduate Royd Haston. Haston is the music manager for the Disney Music Group, the music production arm of the Walt Disney Company. His job involves putting together major orchestral concerts that perform all over the world, and his latest projects have traveled to performing venues in Paris and London, and major orchestral halls around the U.S.
Shoals Symphony at 海角社区's Disney LIVE! "The Jungle Book" will take place on May 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Norton Auditorium on the 海角社区 campus.The concert is licensed by Disney Concerts, a division of ABC, Inc., Walt Disney Music Company and Wonderland Music Company Inc.Tickets are on sale now at shoalssymphony.una.edu and at the Lindsey Theatre Box Office, 海角社区 Campus, Florence (MWF, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
For more information, call Carole Maynard, communication and events coordinator for 海角社区's Department of Music, at (256)765-5122, or visit una.edu/music.