ENCORE! Cast Choir & Orchestra keeps Classic EPCOT Themes Alive!

Master Gracey

Master Gracey

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
On August 8th, I was priviledged enough to attend this year's ENCORE! concert at EPCOT's World Showplace. For those of you who don't know what ENCORE! is, it is a choir and orchestra ensemble made up entirely of Walt Disney World Cast Mambers and their families that was formed in 2002 by a small group of Disney Cast Members with a love of music and a desire to give back to the community. Since then, they have performed concerts with such musical stylings as Broadway, Americana, Gospel, Rock Anthems, Movies Themes, and Pop Favorites and have grown to a volunteer ensemble of nearly 500 members, with the proceeds of each years concert going to a local Florida charity.

This year's concert was "Dream our Dreams: A Musical Tribute to the Legacy of Disney" and was an musical journey through the realms of Love, Fantasy, Darkness, Adventure, Family and Discovery; accompanied by lesser known and sometimes forgotten music from the Disney vaults. One of the highlights was the Discovery section being a tribute to EPCOT attractions of the past! It was great to see that there are still Cast Members that recognize and appreciate Walt Disney World's heritage, and as luck would have it, I found this video while perusing Youtube! I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbudFN3018c

Some days you eat the mouse.
Some days the mouse eats you.
But never give into the mouse without a fight!​

KUNGALOOSH!​
 
SirNim

SirNim

Well-Known Member
Epicot.

You can hear that they were (obviously) working from the original scores so a lot of the small musical flourishes and details from the recorded versions were nicely incorporated into the overall presentation.

If only someone could have tapped into the soundboard... :lookaroun
 
NadieMasK2

NadieMasK2

Active Member
Love it! If I can ever afford to work as a CM I would really like to participate in this as well as the Candlelight Processional. I had a friend who does the CP every year. What an amazing group to be a part of!
 
TheBeatles

TheBeatles

Well-Known Member
i went encore and it was amazing.

the epcot center part gave me goosebumps.

there was also a nod to the main street electrical parade.
 
Rob562

Rob562

Well-Known Member
TheBeatles said:
i went encore and it was amazing.

the epcot center part gave me goosebumps.

there was also a nod to the main street electrical parade.
Click to expand...

Actually the "nod" to the MSEP in the Encore show was part of the theme song from Light Magic, the disaster of a "nighttime streetacular" that played for only one summer in Disneyland. The MSEP segment was a tribute to the original parade, which Light Magic was supposed to replace long-term. (And from what I've read online, the MSEP theme was the only time when the audience actually got into the show)

The LM failure is something that Disneyland really swept under the rug, never to be spoken of again. I'm surprised the Encore group got permission to perform it. (Then again, I'm sure management in Anaheim would've had a very different reaction if they'd been the ones who were asked by their Cast)

Watching the song on YouTube, it's obvious that at least the choreographers were aware of its past, because they included the Irish step-dancing that was predominant throughout the entire LM show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKLhL5ILUis

It's a pity Light Magic was a failure, the theme song itself is rather catchy. (Kind of like the "LuminAria" fireworks show that only played for a single holiday season at DCA... Amazing soundtrack, but the show itself had a lot of drawbacks in trying to shoehorn a pyro show into a lake that wasn't made for one)

-Rob
 
hpyhnt 1000

hpyhnt 1000

Well-Known Member
I too think its a shame Light Magic failed. While the show definitely had issues, I really don't think it was nearly as bad as some people make it out to be. And the music definitely was catchy; kudos to Encore for "keeping it alive" and performing it.
 
ScorpionX

ScorpionX

Well-Known Member
Hi-ho, Kermit the frog here, can I please have a complete list of songs that were in this medley. Yes, this includes Love, Fantasy, Darkness, Adventure, Family, and Discovery.
 
ms7479a

ms7479a

Well-Known Member
As a member of the Encore orchestra it makes me really happy to see that you all enjoyed our salute to the classic Epcot attractions. It was definitely one of my favorite songs to perform and I could tell that the audience at the show definitely appreciated it.

We also played another Epcot song, Celebrate the Future Hand in Hand, which is also on Youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiH78Gbz5VQ&feature=related

If anyone is looking for a complete list of the songs we performed, the show program is on the Encore website: www.encorecentral.org
 
lilclerk

lilclerk

Well-Known Member
I am constantly blown away by how inspirational the classic EPCOT music was, especially when it's in medley form and I hear it all at once like that.

This was fantastic!
 
adv.bluedude

adv.bluedude

Active Member
That was absolutely amazing. I think it really wouldve been cool if they had someone in one of the old Dreamfinder/figment costumes comes out during the JII part.
 

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