CONCERT REVIEW

This week history was made in Lancaster County — Disney history. Disney's "Fantasia" in concert made its national premiere at the American Music Theatre on Wednesday, featuring the talent of our own Lancaster Symphony Orchestra.

The concert combined the music of the live symphony orchestra with clips from the original 1940 "Fantasia" and "Fantasia 2000" films, displayed on screen in high definition to provide a unique, sensory-overloaded experience.

"It is the difference between background music and foreground music," Stephen Gunzenhauser, music director, explained to the audience before the concert began.

He was not kidding. "Beethoven's Symphony No. 5" was a strong opener. Right away the feat of synchronizing the orchestra with the screen was apparent, and the effect was not at all disappointing.

At times it was impossible not to smile at the sheer Disney magic. Fantasia has been a personal favorite of mine for years — it is a beautiful piece of animation. However, the live version had its share of special surprises.

Most people would recognize Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune" in its opening measures. What most people don't know is that the dream-like piece was animated for the 1940's "Fantasia" and omitted from the film's final cut. And of course, as a feature of the live version of "Fantasia," the audience got to witness the original, never-before-seen animation. A very fitting sequence ensued: two white herons gingerly treading through a moonlit marsh, eventually taking off in the night sky in intertwining flight.

Another unique feature of "Fantasia" in concert was the surround sound — and I don't mean like in the movie theater. The penultimate piece, "Respighi's Pines of Rome," brought the orchestral volume to its peak with a line of trumpets ringing in from the balcony. This dazzling surround-sound effect, paired with the visual of a majestic fleet of humpback whales transcending gravity, soared through the night sky and gave me goose bumps.

Actually, I got goose bumps more than once by the time the performance was finished. From George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" set to a scene of bustling Harlem-Renaissance-era New York to "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" — featuring who else, but Walt Disney's alter-ego Mickey Mouse — I was kept actively entertained.

The Lancaster Symphony Orchestra, while openly honored to this be a part of this unique premiere, will surely not be the last to perform Disney's "Fantasia" in concert. In fact, I expect it will be the first of many similar performances, because after all, Disney magic isn't going anywhere.