The Music of Studio Ghibli

The Music of Studio Ghibli at Helzberg Hall - Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts

Joe Hisaishi's scores turned quiet moments into wonder and flights into poetry. The Kansas City Symphony gathers music from four Studio Ghibli films into an orchestral tribute, giving fans more than one beloved world to revisit in a single outing. Those melodies have a way of calling an entire imagined place to mind, even when the music is the focus.

Wilbur Lin conducts music from Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away—films that stayed with you not because they explained everything but because they trusted you to understand kindness, courage and loss without a single word wasted. For a fan, the advertised selections offer the pleasure of recognizing a favorite score alongside the chance to hear music from another Ghibli world. Hisaishi's melodies give those connections a musical starting point.

At Helzberg Hall in Kansas City, Wilbur Lin and the Symphony put Hisaishi's music at the center of the evening. Following one score into the next offers a different way to explore these films: through the music that helps make each world recognizable. You can bring a favorite and stay curious about the others.

It's a chance to give the scores your full attention, from the first familiar passage to a selection you may not know as well. The four advertised films make the concert an inviting way to spend time with Hisaishi's music beyond any single favorite.

Get tickets for Ghibli's orchestral tribute. Let the Symphony bring those worlds back.