Chapman Orchestra puts on live performance of Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’
The Chapman Orchestra (TCO) will be accompanied by professional musicians to perform the score of “The Little Mermaid” alongside a screening of the movie at Chapman’s Musco Center for the Arts on Sept. 29. Photo by EMILY PARIS, Photo Editor
The new rendition of “The Little Mermaid” may have come out this past May, but the classic tale is still making a big splash months later.
Students of The Chapman Orchestra (TCO) will be accompanying a screening of the film with a live performance on Sept. 29 at the Musco Center for the Arts. The Panther spoke with some of the participating talent involved in putting together the concert.
Danko Druško, the director of TCO and the assistant professor of orchestral studies, — has worked as a cover conductor for the LA Philharmonic and at the Hollywood Bowl. He explained to The Panther how he’s feeling about making his conducting debut here at Chapman.
“I’m super excited, for everybody, for myself, but mostly for (the students), especially because it’s such a cool piece and collaboration, and we’re the only university that has this deal with Disney,” Druško said. “So it’s pretty amazing.”
This is an exciting event for several reasons, even apart from the exclusive deal with Walt Disney Studios Druško mentioned. For one thing, the students will be performing alongside professional musicians, some of whom frequently work on studio films, including ones for Disney.
“I think it’s an incredible learning opportunity and an amazing experience for them,” Druško said. “Feeling the energy that a professional musician brings in is a completely different energy in the way that you prepare and (you) just bring your A game… They’ve done these things at other studios and play these types of pieces all the time, so it’s pretty exciting to sit next to someone like that.”
“The Little Mermaid” is one of Disney’s most iconic films and has touched so many lives, both with the new live action film and the original animated version. Melissa McElroy, a junior oboe performance major and a member of TCO, is one student in particular who grew up singing along with Ariel and her underwater friends.
“This was my favorite Disney movie growing up,” McElroy said. “So this being the first movie that I’m playing with Chapman was really fun to find out.”
McElroy explained the selective audition process and how wind players are differentiated from the rest of the orchestra.
“Wind players get the option to be in the band or the orchestra, or both,” McElroy told the Panther. “So I decided to do both. But then there is an audition for placement and chairs…”
Other musicians only had the option to join the orchestra, like junior violin performance major Adrian Fernandez. Fernandez is also the concertmaster, aka the leading first-violin player.
“It’s so fun getting to see who came back and who’s new,” Fernandez told the Panther. “It’s just always exciting to see what our sound will be like this year.”
As with any performance of this nature, there have been some roadblocks and difficulties along the way. It’s also a big change for McElroy, who is a transfer student.
“This (is) my first year here, so it’s a big switch in just the pace of rehearsals and how many of them there are,” McElroy said. “I’m doing about double the amount of rehearsals a week that I’m used to. So switching over to that, it’s been overwhelming but in a fun way.”
Despite how challenging things may seem, Druško and his students couldn’t be more excited for everyone to see all the hard work they put in come to fruition. McElroy and Fernandez are particularly excited about two pieces.
“I don’t play much in ‘Under the Sea,’ but it’s fun to listen to everybody else,” McElroy told The Panther. “That’s a big instrument-heavy one.”
Fernandez really enjoys “Under the Sea” as well, but ultimately, his favorite was a different song.
“(Fireworks-Gigue), it’s a huge solo for me,” Fernandez said. “Like two pages of purely me, and it’s really nice because it’s so opposite of the Caribbean (Sea) kind of thing. It’s very country. It’s like folk music in a way. … It’s really fun to get to play.”
For students on the fence about attending, Druško has a very easy answer to your doubts.
“It’s a once in a lifetime thing to see at Chapman,” Druško said. “Normally, you see this type of thing at the Hollywood Bowl or at Walt Disney Hall with the LA Philharmonic or any other big professional orchestras. You can just walk here from your dorm room and go see the performance. That’s a pretty brilliant thing.”
Tickets are available for purchase at the Musco Center for the Arts website. Available tickets range from $25 to $68 and selections are limited. Chapman students get a slight discount of $13 off and don’t have to pay a service fee, and there is a 15% discount for groups of 10 or more people.
“It’s a once in a lifetime thing to see at Chapman. Normally, you see this type of thing at the Hollywood Bowl or at Walt Disney Hall with the LA Philharmonic or any other big professional orchestras. You can just walk here from your dorm room and go see the performance. That’s a pretty brilliant thing.”