On July 12th, 2014, hundreds of Japanese Tokusatsu (special effects) fans descended upon the Pickwick Theater in Park Ridge, IL for "IFUKUBE 100: A LEGACY OF MONSTER MUSIC". This historic concert was a celebration of the music that maestro Akira Ifukube wrote for Toho's Godzilla film series. The Rondo Award-nominated event was met with praise, accolades, and recognition from Chicago to Tokyo. Friends and fans were in awe and left wanting more. The time has come to deliver just that, even bigger and better!
One of the biggest requests by the fans was to hear some of the themes that Mr. Ifukube wrote for non-Godzilla Toho films such as "Atragon", "The Mysterians", and "War of the Gargantuas". So to satisfy this, as well as deliver for the people who missed out last year, we will be conducting the FIRST EVER North American live performance of Mr. Ifukube's concert work "Symphonic Fantasia". This three movement piece, which was accompanied by scenes from the corresponding movies for the Toho Video release of "Godzilla Fantasia", features not only the best of his work from the Godzilla series, but also from the other aforementioned films. Symphonic Fantasia will be performed under license from Toho Music. But that is only one portion of what we have in store for all of you. The first portion of the concert will focus on the incredible music of the composer Kow Otani. In 1995, Mr. Otani was called upon to be the musical anchor in director Shusuke Kaneko's "Gamera: Guardian of the Universe"(1995). This fantastic film was a throwback to the incredible kaiju films of Ishiro Honda and Eiji Tsuburaya and re-established Gamera as viable franchise. Otani and director Kaneko re-teamed for two sequels, "Gamera 2: Assault of Legion" (1996), and "Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris" (1999) before collaborating on "Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack" at Toho Studios in 2001. This performance will be the WORLD PREMIERE of Mr. Otani's kaiju scores, as they have never been performed live even in Japan, and he is working directly with us to ensure that the music is represented with absolute respect and authenticity. One of our stretch goals will also be to bring Mr. Otani to the concert as the guest of honor. As it did last year, the concert will take place in conjunction with G-FEST on the weekend of July 10th-12th, 2015. Again taking up the baton for the performance will be John DeSentis with an orchestra of exceptionally talented freelance musicians from the Chicago area. We also want to make sure that our friends and fans understand that this fundraiser is for the production of the show. Tickets will be separate for those under the $200 backer level. However, backers and convention attendees will get first opportunity to purchase tickets at discounted pricing. Precise details about show time and date will be announced after the campaign. Check out the full detailshere.
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