FLORENCE-The Shoals Symphony at UNA will take the Norton Auditorium stage on Friday, May 4th with Disney LIVE: Ratatouille.
“This concert will amaze audiences, with ‘Ratatouille’ showing on an extremely large screen while the Shoals Symphony at UNA underscores the entire movie LIVE,” said Dr. Daniel Stevens, music director and conductor for the Shoals Symphony at UNA.
On the Norton Auditorium stage, a 40-foot movie screen will be constructed to showcase the full-length G-rated film. This unique concert experience is coming to the Shoals in large part thanks to 1996 University of North Alabama graduate Royd Haston.
Haston, a commercial music major while at UNA, went to Los Angeles 20 years ago for a two-month internship with Leiber and Stoller Music Publishing. He has served the music industry in California ever since.
Haston is the music manager for the Disney Music Group, the music production arm of the Walt Disney Company. His job involves putting together major orchestral concerts that perform all over the world. His latest projects have traveled to major performing venues in Paris and London, and major orchestral halls around the U.S.
Now one of those concerts is coming to the Shoals, and Haston is returning with it to visit his alma mater.
“At UNA, I felt like I was able to get a top notch education without all the craziness that can come from a really big school,” Haston said. He’s thankful for the friendships, as well as the connections, he made while a student at UNA.
Disney Live: Ratatouille, which takes place at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, May 4th, will be the main focus of Haston’s visit, and promises to be an exciting event for the entire Shoals community. This concert comes to Norton as the third installment of the Symphony’s Disney Live Series, which previously featured sell-out productions of the Jungle Book and Pirates of the Caribbean.
“It’s always fun to dissect the intricate work of a Disney movie, to fully remove the soundtrack, as you begin to prepare with a live orchestra. It is at this point that you realize that the characters aren’t as bright and colorful without the mastery and imagination of composer Michael Giacchino. While listening to his music, you can close your eyes and imagine other story lines, film scenes, and dramatic productions that would underscore the drive and energy of the Ratatouille score. You find that music connects us to things that are familiar in our lives, and motivates and moves us to become better people in this world,” said Stevens.
Tickets are on sale now at shoalssymphony.una.edu and at the Lindsey Theatre Box Office, UNA Campus, Florence, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
For more information, visit shoalssymphony.una.edu or call (256)765-5122.
Media Release/Gwen Schajatovic/Assistant Director of Operations Shoals Symphony Orchestra
