{"id":119423,"date":"2025-11-12T14:16:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T19:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=119423"},"modified":"2025-11-12T14:21:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T19:21:09","slug":"interview-conductor-francis-choiniere-talks-bringing-toy-story-concert-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/11\/12\/interview-conductor-francis-choiniere-talks-bringing-toy-story-concert-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Conductor\u00a0Francis Choini\u00e8re\u00a0Talks About Bringing Toy Story in Concert To Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The FILMharmonique Orchestra and Co-Artistic Director\/Conductor\u00a0Francis Choini\u00e8re (Photo: Tam Photography)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The FILMharmonique Orchestra will perform at the Canadian debut of Disney\/Pixar’s Toy Story in Concert in Toronto. The concerts take place November 21 and 22, 2025 in celebration of the iconic movie\u2019s 30th anniversary.<\/p>\n

The classic animated film will play on a big screen, with live musical accompaniment of the score created by composer Randy Newman. The music will be played note-for-note as it appears in the film.<\/p>\n

Production of the film cemented the current practice of using scratch \u2014 or temporary vocals for all reels, which are later replaced by the fully produced soundtrack.<\/p>\n

Toy Story in Concert played to packed houses on its debut at the Sydney Opera House in Australia earlier this year, with music performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.<\/p>\n

LV spoke to FILMharmonique conductor\u00a0Francis Choini\u00e8re about the event.<\/p>\n

Francis Choini\u00e8re: The Interview<\/h2>\n

\u201cThis is really Michael\u2019s production, and he approached us, the FILMharmonique Orchestra, to do it,\u201d explains Choini\u00e8re. Michael Bastoli is described as a Disney superfan who writes about Disney and Pixar animation, and the creator of GTA-based event producer DJB Live Entertainment.<\/p>\n

It was a natural choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe FILMharmonique Orchestra is the first orchestra is Canada devoted to soundtracks,\u201d he continues. \u201cHe sought us out for this collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The orchestra has a growing catalogue of film scores, but Toy Story is a first. It\u2019s part of what he sees as an ongoing and quite recent trend.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years ago, orchestras were much more distant to this kind of repertoire,\u201d Francis says. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a part of almost every orchestra\u2019s programming these days.\u201d<\/p>\n

He underscores the importance of engaging audiences via orchestral music through various media.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs there are more and more of these projects, what is important to us as an orchestra is putting the orchestra in front.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toy Story, as he points out, was created during the golden age of Disney animation, when there were budgets to hire a 70-piece orchestra to record the score. That is much less frequent nowadays, where digital soundtracks, or much reduced instrumentation are the norm.<\/p>\n

\"Toy
Toy Story in Concert (Photo courtesy of Michael Bastoli)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Music<\/h3>\n

\u201cHe has a lot of jazz influence, as well as classical music,\u201d Choini\u00e8re says of Randy Newman\u2019s music. He likens it to the early and mid-20th century Bugs Bunny animations, where the beats were synchronized to action on screen like running and jumping.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese active elements are portrayed in the music.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also points out the use of leitmotifs for specific characters like Woody and Buzz, elements that are developed in various ways throughout the film.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey give us another emotional dimension.\u201d<\/p>\n

Performance<\/h3>\n

Randy Newman\u2019s distinctive prerecorded vocals are used in the alongside the live orchestral performance. Many moments of the score are tightly synchronized to motions in the film, in contrast with the music for films like Lord of the Rings or the Star Wars series, which are more ambient in nature, and not tied to each step the characters take.<\/p>\n

Precision in performance is key.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m following a click track, and then communicating with the orchestra,\u201d Francis explains.<\/p>\n

For the musicians, it\u2019s both challenging and rewarding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re aligning much more to the downbeat of the conductor, but we do that in opera too. We have to be very meticulous.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happens if the timing strays?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere it differs, it happens sometimes where we are off the click, misaligned by fractions of a second,\u201d he says. In that case, the conductor accelerates to match the clicktrack, then immediately relaxes back to the original tempo.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, we make the audience never hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

The orchestra is composed with a good quotient of freelance musicians, along with those who perform regularly with FILMharmonique.<\/p>\n

Orchestral Discovery<\/h3>\n

He sees the family-oriented film as an ideal way for all ages to discover the magic of orchestral music. \u201cI think it\u2019s a wonderful discovery for audiences,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s a really great way to introduce, not just kids, but adults […] to appreciate an orchestral score.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he points out, back during the days of Warner Bros. and Bugs Bunny, few people considered the fact they were listening to the work of a 70-piece orchestra. He\u2019s hoping the event will showcase the artistry of the music along with the animation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live these moments as they happen,\u201d he says, noting that the musicians also react to the emotions of the movie in real time.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sad part is coming from the screen to the musicians.\u201d<\/p>\n