The Charlotte Symphony is bringing Disney's "Encanto" to the Belk Theater this weekend, performing the score live as the movie plays on screen. WFAE’s Julian Berger spoke with resident conductor Christopher James Lee about what makes these film concerts special.
Julian Berger: For those who haven't seen a film in concert performance, what exactly is that?
Christopher James Lees: So we're so thrilled to be able to offer this to the city. It turns the Belk Theater into the living room of the city for a night. And basically, audience members come in, they watch one of their favorite films, and all of the dialogue and all of the sound effects from the movie come through the amplification speakers and the soundtrack is performed live by musicians on stage, and so it's a beautiful combination of pre-recorded performance and live performance. We perform along with the film so that there isn't ever a moment that it's not synchronized.
Berger: How much preparation kind of goes into getting ready for a performance like this?
Lees: Well, we send out the orchestra parts to all of our musicians two to four weeks ahead of time, and they'll show up, in this case, on Thursday night, and we'll rehearse Thursday night and Friday morning, and between those two days, about five hours of rehearsal, we'll prepare the whole movie and we'll perform Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Very fast, but that speaks to the level of caliber of our musicians, because they can show up and make it sound incredible on the first go.
Berger: This one's kind of interesting. This movie has Colombian rhythms and Latin musical influences, so talk to me a little bit about how you and the musicians are approaching this music and preparing.
Lees: Of all the films that we've done since we started doing these back in 2018, this is the first one that I've seen Latin percussion take up five different staves in the score. We'll do our research in terms of making sure that we're aligned with authentic performance practice based on how they recorded it. It's really helpful. We all have "Encanto" the movie as a reference to refer back to.
Berger: Are there any particular moments that you've seen in the score or in the movie that seem fun?
Lees: Personally, I love "We Don't Talk About Bruno." That's one of my very, very favorite songs. Obviously, it's so catchy and so fun. And just having the full orchestra playing along means that these melodies and the characters and the people on screen, even though they're animated, can relate to others because there's this driving symphonic energy beneath them. And at the end of the day, we are all part of telling the same story.
Berger: Are people able to sing along, dance, and have a good time?
Lees: Absolutely. Come as you are, have a great time, enjoy, sing along, and be engaged, laugh at the moments that are supposed to be funny. And when you're in a room where 2,000 people are laughing at the same joke, that sort of community experience isn't one that we find very often.
Berger: What do you hope audience members, especially family and younger listeners, take away from seeing "Encanto," but with a live orchestra?
Lees: Our goals here are maybe threefold. First, we want people to have a good time. We want them to come and experience the movie in a way that they literally cannot experience anywhere else. Goal No.2, I think, is that people can begin to associate the Charlotte Symphony with musical expression that's more accessible and available to them. And then third, I think, is very specifically towards families that, especially with kids, if this is their first exposure to a symphony orchestra, it's a positive one that entices their imagination.
The Charlotte Symphony performs "Encanto" in concert Friday night and Saturday afternoon at the Belk Theater. Tickets are available here.
