The Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts held “Coco” in concert live-to-film Friday, an event that drew in adults and children alike.
The Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México, conducted by Grammy Award-nominated composer Esin Ayingdoz, performed the soundtrack of Disney-Pixar’s “Coco” live as the movie played synchronously in the background.
“I think half the work is learning the music and how to cue the musicians, and half the work is making sure it’s aligning with the movie,” Ayingdoz said in an interview.
Ayingdoz is doing her third tour and 66th show with the orchestra. “Coco” live-to-film is what made her a conductor three years ago.
“For me, it is very important to honor the [original] composer’s vision. I’m not trying to create anything new or do something new,” she said. “I’m just there to help bring it to life.”
“Coco” is about a young boy named Miguel who dreams of being a musician in a family that forbids it. On Día de los Muertos, he is transported to the land of the dead, where he meets his ancestors and journeys to find his great-great-grandfather so he can return to the land of the living before dawn.
The film’s soundtrack is punctuated by traditional Mexican instruments like guitarróns and requintos, with classic mariachi brass instruments providing bright and celebratory melodies.
The orchestra performed the instrumentals of iconic songs like “Remember Me” and “Un Poco Loco,” while stage lights reinforced the moods of the songs and their corresponding moments from the film.
“With the music that you put [in a film], you can completely twist the feeling that people get,” Ayingdoz said. “If you are showing a war scene and putting bombastic, epic and orchestral music behind it, people feel the destruction, but if you put beautiful, emotional and soft music behind it, it is suddenly about loss, and it’s all about sadness and grief.”
This sentiment was echoed by members of the audience following the concert, especially during one of the final scenes, when Miguel sings “Remember Me” to his great-grandmother Coco.
“When [Miguel] sang to his grandma, it made me cry,” said Hattie Landry, an attendee. “I don’t think you can put music into words; it’s something you just feel.”
“I was about to cry,” said Kieran Haider, a younger attendee.
Most of all, the concert made the audience realize how important music can be to storytelling.
“In a song you’re telling a story,” said Aidan Victor, an audience member. “And you need a story to make a song.”