Memorial Day weekend's Fanime convention would have something very special attached to it: the Joe Hisaishi Symphonic Concert - Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki. The Symphony Silicon Valley performed five sold-out shows over four days at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. Mamoru Fujisawa, professionally known as Joe Hisaishi, has been the composer for almost every film written by Hayao Miyazaki with the exception of 1995's Whisper of the Heart. Hisaishi's career spans more than 40 years with almost half of them in service to Miyazaki. This concert serves as a showcase and celebration of his music which has been a staple of Studio Ghibli films.
Something unique about holding the concert series during Fanime is the attendees. Fanime, as an anime convention, is known for having thousands of cosplayers and anime fans present. Contrast that with the symphony where the usual concertgoer dresses up a little, or at least wears a nice dress or some slacks and a good shirt. Not this weekend. I myself was in plain clothes and was not alone by far. Plenty of others were in all manner of dress and some in costumes inspired by the Studio Ghibli films.
To be clear the concert itself is not a new one; it has, in some shape or form, been performed for about a decade. It was first billed as a celebration of Joe's 25th anniversary back in 2008 and that number has increased to 35 years at this point. More importantly it's stateside and in San Jose which makes it the only American performances ever. This is a once in a lifetime chance and I was glad to be here.
The program started with music from 1984's Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind. After getting the symphony started Joe himself hopped on piano and through the night he would swap between playing and conducting. Footage from each movie accompanied the music on a large screen. Opening song "The Legend of the Wind" gives the audience a taste of the journey that they're about to embark upon before being followed by the speedy "The Battle between Mehve and Corvette." The songs flow into each other seamlessly and before you know it the first segment is complete. That can be said for all of the segments. It's a whirlwind tour spanning multiple decades of films ranging from the oldest like Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Kiki's Delivery Service to ones more modern like Ponyo and Howl's Moving Castle.
Remember when I said that this was first performed a decade ago? Something missing from the original is music from Miyazaki's latest film The Wind Rises (formerly final film up until he announced the production of How Do You Live?) but more recent versions of the concert have fixed that. The Wind Rises tells the story of Jiro Horikoshi who designed two of Japan's fighter aircraft during World War II and a three-fold tale of imagination, love, and loss. Three songs were selected from the film: "A Journey (A Dream of Flight)," "Nahoko (The Encounter)," and "A Journey (A Kingdom of Dreams)." Mandolinist Howard Kadis participates throughout this portion of the set and helps bring the sound of that era alive.
World-class soprano Lisa Vroman and vocalist Mai Fujisawa are featured throughout the night. Vroman's performance during Princess Mononoke's titular song is easily a match for Masako Hayashi's performance ten years prior at Japan's Budokan concert hall; sung in Japanese, music truly does transcend language. Fujisawa effortlessly sings "One Summer's Day" and "Reprise" from Spirited Away and at the end of that segment Joe proudly proclaims that she is his daughter (which, if you know his real name, is not much of a surprise).
People who looked at the program may have noticed that the Reedley High School Symphonic Band is listed on the credits but with no mention of what they would be doing. The music from Laputa: Castle in the Sky would be their time to shine. They entered on both sides of the symphony hall and ringed the edges of the room giving the performance a 3D quality to it so the music came from front, sides, and behind you. This echoes the performance from the Budokan (amongst other performances) where a local band is invited to take part and it is quite the honor for those involved.
But all good things must come to an end and at least we got to close on a high note. My Neighbor Totoro which holds an almost godlike status even among Ghibli works would take the honor. The Fujisawa/Vroman duet along with the choir carry the night to a fun ending with a trio of songs including "Hey Let's Go" and "My Neighbor Totoro."
Fanime is a four day event. The first day you spend just getting there. The second you are hitting your stride and having fun. The third is a mix of fun but also dread as you realize that as the last night you will be leaving tomorrow. But, for just a couple of hours, that feeling of dread completely disappeared. For a couple of hours I forgot that it was almost time to go back to reality. Perhaps in a few years when Miyazaki's swan song How Do You Live? is released there will be another rendition of this concert for the fourtieth anniversary. I'm sure Hisaishi's music will have no less impact then than it does now.
