After the Everett Symphony plays the music of Disney on Saturday, assistant conductor Ron Friesen is betting that the audience will walk away amazed.
“This is a big-league production. This is the kind of stuff you would see at the Paramount or something like that,” Friesen said. “And people will be asking, ‘Can we do this in Everett?’
“Absolutely.”
Though the concert is big league in terms of the challenging musical scores, a beautiful venue and top-drawer sound and video systems, this is still a family-friendly show where all ages are welcome — there’s a quiet room for fussy toddlers — and where laughter, squirms and shouts of glee are the norm.
“This is not the kind of concert where the expectation is folded hands,” Friesen said. “No glaring allowed.”
The Everett Symphony is performing the “Magical Music of Disney,” a multi-media extravaganza that promises to turn the idea of a symphony concert on its head.
Picture this: While the audience listens to strains from “Beauty and the Beast” or “Mary Poppins,” video streams with some never-before-seen images from the Disney vault, both animated scenes or stills, although there’s nothing static here, with lots of zooming in and out and panning and such, Friesen said.
There are also occasional introductions and explanations from a narrator to keep the show flowing.
From a musical standpoint, it is big league for the orchestra to play Disney, because obtaining the rights is usually cost-prohibitive.
“They have to be absolutely intrepid players who can play with tremendous courage,” Friesen said.
Playing Disney also means a huge percussion section of six players and more than 40 percussion instruments to produce all the various types of ethnic music from such productions as “Tarzan,” “The Lion King” and “Aladdin.”
A suite of sound effects accompanies all this, ranging from duck calls to typewriters. Luckily, the symphony’s new venue at New Life Center accommodates the complexity of this show with top quality video and sound systems, Friesen said.
New Life Center also is hosting a music education fair before the show so patrons can learn more about musical opportunities in the area for themselves and their families.
Friesen said he is “throwing the gauntlet down” and challenging the community to watch as the Everett Symphony takes it to another level.
“We’ve heard that the community looks for wholesome family activities to take their kids to and it doesn’t get much better than Disney and the symphony,” Friesen said. “That’s as wholesome as you can get.
“So come on, Snohomish County. You asked for it and you got it.”
