Symphony serves up a collection of family favorites

Disney has created many memorable images: The lion king with his cub, Aladdin with his lamp, beauty with her beast. Yet tonight, we’ll be reminded that Disney has also provided the world with a remarkably rich soundtrack over the decades.

The Spokane Symphony will present a family concert titled “The Magical Music of Walt Disney,” featuring music from Disney features ranging from “Mary Poppins” to “Mulan.”

Resident Conductor Morihiko Nakahara will lead the full orchestra in music from nearly a dozen movies, including “Tarzan,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Hercules,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Rescuers Down Under,” “Aladdin,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “The Lion King.”

And the experience won’t be exclusively musical. Plenty of those memorable Disney images will be in evidence as well.

Rare Disney stills, along with full animated scenes, will be projected above the orchestra throughout the show. The music will be synchronized to these images, which were provided by the Disney company.

You’ll see the ballroom dance scene from “Beauty and the Beast” and the magic carpet ride scene from “Aladdin,” to name just two.

So this will certainly be a kid-friendly program – a special $14 ticket is available for children 12 and under.

“But you don’t have to have a kid to come,” said Annie Matlow, the symphony’s marketing director. “Adults will have a good time, too.”

The program will showcase the diversity of Disney’s soundtracks over the decades.

There will be pieces by pop superstars such as Elton John and Phil Collins, old-school songwriters such as the Sherman brothers (Richard M. and Robert B.) and soundtrack legends such as Alan Menken, Jerry Goldsmith and Hans Zimmer.