Disney in Concert: The Sound of Magic – Sheffield City Hall

Director: Amy Tinkham

Music Director: Giles Martin

100 years ago it all started with a mouse. Well, it actually started with a rabbit and how lovely that this show acknowledges that briefly. Disney in Concert: The Sound of Magic is touring the UK, celebrating the music and animated films that Disney has produced over the last 100 years.

This concert is truly joyous. Creative Director Amy Tinkham has worked wonders to bring together film and live orchestral music in this incredibly polished concert celebration of some of the most beloved music in the world. The show demonstrates immense creativity. It isn’t just a selection of songs as you might expect. It is a combination of songs, often mashed up with other songs, as well as underscore and incidental music, that somehow brings together all of the films we know and love. David Bess is the film editor and he has done a wonderful job at bringing together film clips to create thematic sequences. The arrangements by Giles Martin and Ben Foster (Foster also provides orchestrations) are outstanding. They seamlessly blend songs together. At times, you find yourself wondering if the music is really live – that’s the quality of these soaring orchestrations and arrangements. The sound designer (who seems to go uncredited) also deserves a huge amount of praise – they mix the live music and the recorded vocals from the original films flawlessly. Having some live vocalists may have added something to the concert, but the absence of them means the stunning orchestra are firmly in the spotlight.

The orchestra in question for this concert is the Novello Orchestra, conducted by David Mahoney. The orchestra are clearly thoroughly enjoying playing this music, each with big smiles on their faces. The precision with which they each play is something to behold. Mahoney impressively ensures the orchestra stay in time with the video and recorded vocals. He is also a lovely compere for the evening, full of warmth and clearly as big of a Disney fan as the audience are.

Disney in Concert: The Sound of Magic is a delightful concert, suitable for all ages. It is a perfect introduction to orchestral music for young people whilst being a wonderful celebration of this great catalogue of music and film, full of plenty of nostalgia hits.