Studio Ghibli Magic Forever <3

Written By Tong Wang

<3 sharing something very special and personal for me this week. 

I grew absolutely mesmerized by Japan’s Studio Ghibli animations such as Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service. They were so adorable – so fun and vibrant and magical. 

But as I got older and rewatched these movies, my appreciation for them grew as well. I found a deep emotional value in their endearing, truthful sincerity. 

Princess Mononoke is a particular favourite - epic, dramatic, terrifying at times, tender at others, filled with glorious landscapes, enchanting magical forests and spirits, fantasy and wisdom and heartfelt earnestness. 

Simple things are often the most profound. 

I hope this music touches you too, for those dedicated Ghibli fans. If not, please - a very magical world awaits your inner childlike limitless imagination <3  

___

“Legend of Ashitaka” 
Princess Mononoke, Studio Ghibli 

Music by Joe Hisaishi/Arrangement by Wesley Chu 

Trio Incarnadine 

Adam Jeffreys, violin 
Leah Plave, cello 
Tong Wang, piano 

Mie Hirshfield and Andre St-Denis, recording artists

2.13.2020

Tong Wang

Tong Wang is a Canadian artist leading innovative initiatives across areas of performance, research, and community engagement. Her projects explore the role of art in relation to identity, culture, and current social-political issues. As a soloist and chamber musician, Tong has performed with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Red Deer Symphony Orchestra, and ensembles across North America and Europe. As a multidisciplinary artist, she has written the libretto of a new opera, “Labyrinth of Tears”, funded by the Canada Council, FRQSC, and SSHRC, participated in the Napoule Arts Foundation Residency in France, and published an award-winning photo-essay in the literary magazine Carte Blanche. Her other projects include the creative performances “Song of Praise”, “Ghiblilane”, “Once Upon a Pumpkin”, and research on the aesthetic of “cuteness” in popular and classical music. Tong recently toured a recital on multiculturalism, “我们Us” in Lunenburg, Montreal, Basel, and presented the interactive concerts “We’re Not Really Strangers” and “My Neighbours Totoro and Claude!” at the Verbier Festival. In 2022, Tong launched the Windwood Music Festival in Airdrie, Alberta to engage with and support rural farming communities through classical chamber music. In 2023, Tong will be touring with Duo Perdendosi across eastern US & Canada, as well as with Duo Incarnadine in Turkey and China to premiere a new commission by Alice Ho, Four Impressions of China. Using diverse mediums, Tong aims to share the power of art to reach across time, languages, borders, and cultures to connect people and kindle a shared understanding.

https://tong-wang.com
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