Lights! Music! Action!

Today, Valerie and I went to the Osaka Symphony Hall to hear and watch the Star Wars II concert. Yuka Ishimaru played the pipe organ and two other musicians played percussion. Most of the music played was enhanced significantly by the incredible projection mapping displays. The pipe organ and three quarters of the hall almost seemed to dance as a dizzying array of moving colours and images were projected about the theatre. 

And what an amazing assortment of music. The concert opened with a Harry Potter Medley. This was followed by Back To The Future and Jaws. After that we enjoyed Raiders of the Lost Ark March and Jurassic Park. These were followed by what Yuka Ishimaru said was the most exhausting piece, Pirates of the Caribbean. The reason why it is so exhausting, she explained after she had got her breath back, was because it uses all three levels of pipes which means having to apply a lot of pressure on the pedals in order to make them work. After that, we enjoyed Flying Theme From E.T. and then the grand finale - of course, Star Wars. Most of these links give an idea of what the concert sounded like, although the percussion gave the sound a lot more depth and energy than these links. Here is a link which is very similar to the projection mapping used in today's concert.

I hope you enjoy the links I've inserted as much as Valerie and I enjoyed today's concert.

By the way, this piece was included in today's Star Wars Medley. Enjoy! There was also one significant omission from today's concert, but someone has played it here.