All of the songs written for the show needed to speak to the show, but not about it. He took the chorus music from ‘We Go On’ and the verse of ‘Tapestry of Nations’ and then gave Don Dorsey an instrumental combination. The Disney Company asked Gavin for play out music after the show was over. It happened so quickly and it was its own perfect experience.” Normally you go through rounds of recording for a project of that magnitude, but I guess that’s part of what made it so special. “I recorded the final vocal right out of the gate,” said Coffey. Interestingly, the vocals you hear in the current show are the actual demo tracks that Kellie laid down during those sessions. While we were laying down the demo recordings I kept thinking how stunningly beautiful these songs are and that this was going to be very special.” Therefore, the vocal contractor recommended me to give it a go. “They were not sure that they got what they were looking for. “Someone had come in before me to record ‘We Go On,’” said Coffey. However, she was not originally supposed to sing both songs. In addition to Gavin Greenaway’s instrumental music there are two songs with vocals: “We Go On” and “Promise.” Kellie Coffey, who was the Academy of Country Music’s 2003 Top New Female Vocalist, was the singer on both of those songs. It was the best kept secret because Eisner never came and saw any of the rehearsals.” Where’s the contrast? Where’s the heart? Where’s the drama?” We thought ‘boy, we really got something here.’ And we did. “When you do a spectacular-type of show like IllumiNations, you map out where the highs are and where the lows are. I did this primarily for Paul Pressler, who at the time, was the chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. I dedicated one Walt Disney World theme park per wall and kept track of all the entertainment, music, and live entertainment in each of those four parks. “I had a war room in Los Angeles across from Walt Disney Imagineering. “Back in those days, as I got promoted,” said Logan. “From the first time someone heard the music I wanted it to be accessible and understood,” said Greenaway. The music that Greenaway wrote had to reflect the musical traditions of the world without being overtly world, classical, or pop. He said that they made sure they supported Greenaway even when he was not sure of himself. Logan’s team eventually came around and thought that Greenaway’s music was great and would fit perfectly into what they were doing with the show. I have never seen an outline so detailed and thought through.” “I didn’t need to take notes,” said Greenaway. When they met, Gavin didn’t even take notes which made Don a little nervous. It was very freeing.”Įven Don Dorsey initially wasn’t sure of Greenaway. I had nothing to lose and nothing to live up to. All Disney had was Hans’s recommendation. “I had not presented a show reel or demo. “I was very much in the position of the underdog,” said Greenaway. It didn’t even sound like Hans Zimmer’s music. He would tell him to write something about a boy and a dog or something that has some heart or has a spectacular feel. Logan would send him paragraphs with instructions to write music based on a topic. He said that when he first saw Gavin, he looked more like 17-years-old than 22. Zimmer: “Just go meet him and listen to what he writes.Logan: “No way am I going to take a chance with a 22-year-old on this project!”.Go to the Beatles’s studio and you can meet him there.” He drew up a contract and paid him an advance, but after several months on the project Zimmer said he couldn’t do it anymore because Jeffrey Katzenberg had hired him to go to DreamWorks. “Hans said that he really wanted to do it.” Logan said they talked about all kinds of styles of music for the show including jazz, opera, and Broadway, but they decided it could not be any of that. I went to Hans and asked him if he would do the music for this show because I knew his work and I knew he’d do a good job.” He was under contract with us to find composers for various movies. “At the time Hans Zimmer was working at the Studio. Because it was Epcot, we didn’t use Disney music because Disney music belonged in the Magic Kingdom.” It was always classical music since that is what the world knew. “With the past shows, it had always been the same music,” said Logan. Now that they knew what the theme and what the general direction of the show was, Logan said they had to make other decisions. The Music of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth … a brand new sound Logan talks about the history and little known facts about one of Disney’s longest running nighttime shows. In part one of our conversation with Ron Logan, the former executive vice president of Walt Disney entertainment reminisced about the various lagoon shows at Disney’s Epcot, as well as the upcoming final performance of IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth in September.
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