This week’s guest is the incredible Macy Schmidt, the Tony award-winning Founder of The Sinfonietta — an all-women and majority women-of-color orchestra renowned for reimagining the music of popular culture in a symphonic setting. They started doing Film Concerts last Spring with the world premiere of SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE at The Kings Theater in Brooklyn. Since then, they’ve also performed the music to AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER, BARBIE, and COWBOY BEBOP — and their shows have been held at historical landmark venues like The Hollywood Bowl and The Town Hall.
I discovered the Sinfonietta at the world premiere of the SPIDER-VERSE film concert and was instantly obsessed with the experience of celebrating a film score in such a grand way. Hearing the Miles Morales theme song performed by a live orchestra and turntable cued perfectly to the film projected right above them on a giant screen with the composer Daniel Pemberton in-person playing the keyboard and whistle was spectacular. The Kings Theater was once a movie palace almost 100 years ago and on that night the Sinfonietta revived that age-old moviegoing experience with a soldout show of 3000 audience members.
The Sinfonietta and Town Hall once collaborated on a Cowboy Bebop 25th anniversary concert last year. Now they’re teaming up again for Disney/Pixar’s Coco in Concert Live to Film on Día de los Muertos (Nov 1) and they’re bringing with them NYC’s first and only all-women Latin GRAMMY-winning Mariachi Flor de Toloache! The concert features Composer Michael Giacchino’s complete score performed live, plus additional songs co-written by Composer Germain Franco (Encanto, Vivo) and Co-Director/Screenwriter Adrian Molina. “Remember Me” Oscar-winning Songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez will introduce the show, too! Get your tickets HERE!
Macy and I talk about the Sinfonietta’s journey thus far and what her process is like in curating which movies and anime series they decide on reimagining with their orchestra. We talk about Coco’s impact on the culture and how her team is working extra hard at making their film concert a uniquely elevated experience for NYC audiences — like inviting Flor de Toloache to perform Mariachi songs throughout the live score screening and decorating The Town Hall with candles, marigolds, an ofrenda, and more.
Town Hall is making a great effort to create a cultural touchpoint for this ONE-NIGHT-ONLY film concert event. Friend of the show and Town Hall’s Artistic Director Melay Araya says,
“We are working with the New York City Department of Education and with our neighbors here in Midtown to create cultural programs for our greater community that include sending mariachi musicians into our city’s schools, opening our dress rehearsal to public school students and shelter residents, and creating on-site and street activations on November 1st. Coco is the perfect story for our community to coalesce around as we work to open our doors and our city to our newest members in the ways that New Yorkers—Town Hall’s suffragist founders included—always have.”
Macy Schmidt, The Sinfonietta, and their partners are creating new gateways for audiences to get exposed to the live orchestral music experience and film scores! Town Hall is building a beautiful space for audiences to immerse themselves in the traditions of Día de los Muertos — a holiday rooted in a Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican ritual that contemporary practices include family and friends gathering to pay respects and remember their loved ones who died. It’s a festive and sometimes bittersweet celebration of life, death, and the importance of staying connected to the spirits who have passed on.
The Town Hall Presents:
Disney and Pixar’s COCO in Concert Live to Film
with The Sinfonietta and Flor de Toloache
Friday, November 1, 2024 at 8pm (doors 7pm)
Tickets from $59.50
🎟️ Get your tickets HERE!
✨Follow Macy on Instagram HERE
✨Follow The Sinfonietta on Instagram HERE
✨Follow Flor de Toloache on Instagram HERE
✨Follow The Town Hall on Instagram HERE
🎧 You can also listen to this episode on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
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Credits: Produced by Alec Rodriguez, original artwork by Cristina Montes, original music by Jeremy Bullen.
NEXT ON THE POD: The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival with Nitehawk Cinema’s 35mm Projections MCKEGG COLLINS!
Ep. 023: Disney/Pixar's COCO IN CONCERT LIVE TO FILM, Pt. 1 with MACY SCHMIDT