The Las Vegas Philharmonic kicks off its 2026-2027 season on September 12 and 13 with a two-night tribute to the music of Studio Ghibli, performing live orchestral arrangements drawn from beloved animated films while introducing Rei Hotoda as its new music director and conductor. The concerts, set for Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, celebrate the work of composer Joe Hisaishi, whose scores helped bring films like Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Kiki's Delivery Service to life.
According to KTNV, Hotoda joined the station's Morning Blend to preview the concert, describing it as a family-friendly night out built around Hisaishi's celebrated film music. The performance doubles as Hotoda's first concert leading the orchestra and as the Philharmonic's official season opener, according to the Las Vegas Philharmonic. It arrives after a multi-year search for artistic leadership, marking a fresh chapter for the ensemble.
A Historic First for the Philharmonic
Hotoda was appointed the Philharmonic's fourth music director in November 2025, becoming the first female conductor to lead the organization in its history, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She was selected under a four-year contract beginning in July 2026 after first guest conducting the ensemble in May 2025. Per the same report, Hotoda will simultaneously continue as Music Director of California's Fresno Philharmonic, where her contract has been extended through the 2028-2029 season, and she and her family relocated their primary residence from the Chicago area to Las Vegas this summer, according to The Munro Review.
Inside Reynolds Hall
The concert series will take place in Reynolds Hall, a 2,050-seat venue with a five-tiered audience chamber designed by architect David M. Schwarz, and the hall has served as the orchestra's official home since 2012. Individual tickets for the two-day series range from $46.00 to $162.20 including fees, with single tickets for the full 2026-2027 season having gone on public sale earlier this month, per The Smith Center.
Celebrating Joe Hisaishi's Legacy
The program centers on the work of Joe Hisaishi, described in the concert as a legendary composer whose scores helped define Studio Ghibli's most cherished films. Hisaishi has scored 11 animated films for director Hayao Miyazaki since 1984's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, a four-decade partnership frequently compared by critics to the collaboration between John Williams and Steven Spielberg, according to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Hisaishi was born Mamoru Fujisawa and adopted his stage name as a Japanese transliteration of American musician Quincy Jones's name.
Hisaishi's commercial reach extends well beyond the concert hall. His 2023 Deutsche Grammophon album A Symphonic Celebration: Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki, recorded with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, debuted at No. 1 on both the Billboard Classical Albums and Classical Crossover Albums charts, according to the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
A National Trend in Concert Programming
Las Vegas is not alone in turning to film scores to fill seats. Symphonic programs built around Hisaishi's Ghibli compositions have sold out major venues including Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall in New York, per The Philadelphia Orchestra. Classical ensembles across the country now regularly program film scores on mainstage pops series specifically to boost ticket sales and attract younger, multi-generational audiences.
The Las Vegas Philharmonic itself has leaned into film music before, having backed composer Danny Elfman for a two-night concert series built around Tim Burton's films earlier this year, a connection Hoodline covered in its Elfman Burton concert coverage. Founded in 1998 with initial performances at UNLV's Artemus W. Ham Concert Hall, the orchestra operated on campus before becoming a resident company at The Smith Center in 2012, according to Wikipedia.
The Studio Ghibli program will focus purely on live symphonic performance, without film projections accompanying the music. For longtime patrons and newcomers alike, the September concerts offer both a nostalgic trip through Miyazaki's animated worlds and a first look at the sound Hotoda plans to bring to Southern Nevada's flagship orchestra.
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