1940’s Fantasia was one of Walt Disney’s more interesting projects. Starting life as the elaborate musical short, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, with the intention to boost Mickey Mouse’s popularity, it slowly morphed into an eight-part animated feature film showcasing classical music. It also spawned a sequel, Fantasia 2000, spearheaded by Roy Disney, Walt’s nephew, and now it will be screened at the Union Colony Civic Center in Greeley on March 11 – with the music scored by the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra.
Glen Cortese, Maestro of the GPO, said over the phone that the live scoring of Fantasia was one of many collaborative projects the Orchestra is doing with the UCCC.
“The first project was a concert with Judy Collins,” Cortese said, “and that was a big success in terms of how it was perceived by the public and how the collaboration worked with the two organizations.”
Cortese said that they wanted to be able to offer these kinds of more popular programs to the community so there was choice in their season, both in the great classical music concerts but also lighter programs.
“We started talking about some other options, not only popular artists but also film,” he said. “There’s a big push now in the symphony orchestra world to create these concerts where orchestra play live with films, and Fantasia was kind of the original one. And what Disney did was, they put together parts of the original Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 into this one amalgamation of both versions and then created this new film that’s intended specifically to have the orchestra play with it live. So we thought that would be a great way to introduce a film music type of event to the Greeley audience.”
Before the show, the GPO is also having a fundraising dinner, a three-course meal sponsored by Sears Real Estate on the second floor lobby of the UCCC. Kenny’s Steakhouse is catering and a free glass of wine is included, and you might get a chance to speak to the Maestro before the show. $75 gets you tickets to the dinner and the show; proceeds from the dinner go to the GPO.
If you only want to see Fantasia, tickets are on sale at the UCCC; call 970-356-5000 or visit http://www.ucstars.com. Remember, the show is on March 11.
For the GPO fundraising dinner, call the GPO office at 970-356-6406
