‘Night of Disney Music’ brings songs of heroes, villains to free Ogden concert

‘Night of Disney Music’ brings songs of heroes, villains to free Ogden concert

OGDEN — This one’s for the kids.

Although, let’s be honest, it’s also for the adults.

But mostly, it’s for kids.

While the most-excellent Excellence in the Community free concert series has offered up plenty of music suitable for the entire family — mariachi tunes, songs from the Great American Songbook, Brazilian bossa nova — this coming Monday’s concert will be especially attractive to the young (and young at heart).

“A Night of Disney Music” will be presented at 7 p.m. Monday, March 4, in Peery’s Egyptian Theater, 2415 Washington Blvd. The concert features singers Melinda Kirigin-Voss and Brian Stucki, accompanied by pianist Jared Pierce, singing solos and duets from Disney favorites like “Cinderella,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Tangled” and “Toy Story.”

Stucki is also an accomplished cellist, and will use the instrument to contribute to some of the evening’s pieces.

“We’ll be performing an entire evening of Disney favorites,” said Kirigin-Voss. “There are over 15 different shows we’ll be pulling songs from — everything from ‘Frozen’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ to ‘Aladdin’ and ‘Moana.’”

All but one of the Disney songs featured will be from animated features. The lone exception: “True Love’s Kiss” from the live-action “Enchanted” movie starring Amy Adams.

Kirigin-Voss said the beauty of the upcoming concert is that both young and old recognize and love Disney tunes. And much of that love comes from the association with childhood.

“If you’ve seen the films, the memories and feelings associated with the songs are powerful,” she said. “Disney songs in general are solid compositions — well-written pieces that stick in your head. Some great songwriting and great lyric-writing makes for timeless classics.”

A professional vocalist and pianist, Kirigin-Voss has performed with the Utah Symphony, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, Marvin Hamlisch, and as a background vocalist for Broadway star Elaine Paige. She is the director of music at St. Thomas More Catholic Church and lives in Sandy.

Stucki, who lives in Spring City and teaches at Snow College, has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony, Polish National Opera, New Israeli Opera, Seattle Opera and much more. The Boston Globe called the tenor’s voice “superb.”

According to his bio, Pierce, who hails from Utah County, is considered “one of Utah’s rising generation of engaging, versatile and entertaining pianists, composers and teachers.” He is currently the accompanist for the Utah Chamber Artists and the Utah Symphony Chorus, and is an assistant professor of music at Brigham Young University.

Kirigin-Voss promises that the concert will offer a range of emotions.

“There’s some fun stuff, some love songs — we’ll even throw in a set of villain songs,” she said. “You’ve gotta have both the light and the dark.”

And lest anyone thinks it’s just an evening for children, Kirigin-Voss says many of the songs offer meaningful messages mixed in with the fun. For example, “Colors of the Wind” from “Pocahontas,” has an especially timely message.

Says Kirigin-Voss: “If you really pay attention to those lyrics, they’re very meaningful — ‘You think you own whatever land you land on, the earth is just a dead thing you can claim.’ But we need to take care of the earth, and the animals, and each other.”

Songs featured in the program will include:

• From “Aladdin” — “A Whole New World,” “Arabian Nights,” “Friend Like Me”

• From “Beauty and the Beast” — “Be Our Guest,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Something There”

• From “Cinderella” — “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” “So This is Love”

• From “Enchanted” — “True Love’s Kiss”

• From “Frozen” — “Let It Go,” “Love is an Open Door”

• From “Moana” — “How Far I’ll Go”

• From “Mulan” — “Reflection”

• From “Pocahontas” — “Colors of the Wind,” “If I Never Knew You”

• From “Sleeping Beauty” — “Once Upon a Dream”

• From “Tangled” — “I See the Light,” “Mother Knows Best”

• From “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” — “Heaven’s Light,” “Hellfire,” “Out There”

• From “The Lion King” — “Circle of Life”

• From “The Little Mermaid” — “Kiss the Girl,” “Part of Your World,” “Under the Sea”

• From “Toy Story” — “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”

Kirigin-Voss hopes Ogden-area residents will take the opportunity to see this free concert.

“Most people love Disney, so this should be a huge draw,” Kirigin-Voss said. “I just want to really encourage people to come out, young and old. Come if you have kids, and come even if you don’t have kids.”

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