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Ghibli Composer Hisaishi to Hold Quake Benefit Concerts

Composer Joe Hisaishi will hold concerts in Tokyo, Osaka, Paris, and Beijing this June and July to benefit the reconstruction efforts after the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake (Higashi Nihon Daishinsai) disaster. The concerts will feature Hisaishi's soundtrack work for Studio Ghibli, director Takeshi Kitano, and others, as performed by a 250-person orchestra and chorus. As the music is played, famous scenes from the films will be shown on a giant screen.

Hisaishi had previously held concerts for the music he did for Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films, but this will be the first concert that encompasses all of Hisaishi's film soundtrack work.

Hisaishi had visited the disaster areas of Kesenuma City in Miyagi Prefecture, and Rikuzentakata City and Ōfunato City in Fukushima Prefecture at the end of April and personally saw the devastation. (The first two cities hosted a caravan that travelled from area to area to show Ghibli films.)

Hisaishi had originally planned this program for a concert at the Krakòw Film Music Festival in Poland on May 19. The program will combine famous scenes with Hisaishi's music for Ghibli's films such as Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, and Ponyo, as well as his music for Kitano's films such as Brother, Hana-Bi, and Kikujiro. Other films represented will include the Oscar-winning Departures and Villain.

All proceeds will go towards musical instruments for children in the disaster areas. The "Joe Hisaishi 3.11 Charity Concert ~The Best of Cinema Music~" concerts in Tokyo, Osaka, Paris, and Beijing will be held on June 9, June 18, June 23, and July 9, respectively.

Source: Oricon

Image © Nibariki