On Friday, September 18, 2015, a volunteer group of 75 dedicated members of the Disney Employee Choir had the chance to partake in a unique (and rare) opportunity—to record new show music for the annual Disneyland Candlelight Processional and Ceremony (the event that they perform in annually).
After trekking to the 20th Century Fox Studio lot in Century City, the choir convened at the the historic Newman Scoring Stage (named, in part, after legendary film composer, Alfred Newman), where under the direction of Candlelight conductor Nancy Sulahian, and longtime Disney Entertainment music director and producer Bruce Healey, they recorded new renditions of classic carols for the show’s opening processional.
The choir can now say they have the distinction of having professionally recorded where such recent Disney classics as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Bolt (2008), WALL•E (2008) and Saving Mr. Banks (2013) also laid down their scores. Historic company, indeed!
The newly recorded music debuted with this year’s installment of the Candlelight show. Choir members and their colleagues are honored to know that their collaborative spirit, in the form of beautiful holiday carols, will continue to live on in Walt’s original Magic Kingdom, hopefully for years to come.
