On this edition of SNAPSHOTS, if you’re a fan of “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, well, you’re in for a treat. The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra is having an upcoming performance of “The Nightmare Before Christmas: Live in Concert” this week, November 7th, at the Capital One Hall in Tysons, Virginia!
Here with me to talk about this upcoming concert is the conductor of that very concert, Jason Seber.
Jason, Welcome to SNAPSHOTS. How are you doing?
I’m doing well. Dean, thanks for having me.
For those who have never seen The Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert, tell us about the upcoming performance that we’re about to see this Friday.
Well, first, it’s a fantastic movie, as we all know, came out in 1993. I think it’s one of Tim Burton’s personal best movies. One of the most imaginative, creative stories and animation with an incredible score by Danny Elfman. And this Friday, we will be performing the entire movie live, so the audience will watch the film on the screen, and the Fairfax Symphony will play the entire score by Danny Elfman, every single note of it. Now the singers will still be recorded. So, you’ll still hear, you know Danny Elfman as the singing voice of Jack Skellington, and Catherine O’Hara as Sally and everyone else. But we will be playing every instrumental note that Mr. Elfman wrote live for the audience.
That is sensational. I can tell you that “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of my Halloween/Christmas films. Now, of all the pieces that we’re about to hear this Friday, do you have a favorite among the scores from that movie?
Oh, there’s so many good songs I mean. The Oogie Boogie’s Song, I love just a great blues number. Orchestras don’t get to play the blues very often. So no, we really have a lot of fun with that one. It has a really fun part for the orchestra. I personally love “Kidnap the Sandy Claws”, the one that ends the first act. It’s just so intense and fun for the orchestra to play. It’s a kind of bizarre, faster tempo tune. These henchmen are just possessed trying to kidnap the Santa Claus to please Oogie Boogie. It’s just a really fun song, and it’s a great way to end the first half of that show.
You’re absolutely right. Now, I got to ask the obvious question, are you a fan of the movie itself?
Oh, I’m a huge fan of the movie. Absolutely. I like all Tim Burton’s movies. He’s one of my favorite filmmakers and directors. But like I said, I really think the Nightmare Before Christmas is a gem among gems in his canon of movies. I never get sick of it. I’ve conducted it many times. I’ve watched it many times, and every time I see something new that I never noticed before, or, you know, some detail in the animation or the story. I just love the film.
Now, you have conducted many feature films over the course of your career, and you have worked with numerous artists as well. Is there a favorite that stands out to you personally?
That’s really tough/ You know, I get asked that question actually a lot, “who’s the favorite artist you’ve ever worked with?”, or “what’s your favorite film you’ve ever conducted?” I feel very blessed that I’ve had such a wide variety of artists and movies to do, and there’s always something great about each of them. And it’s sort of like asking me to pick who my favorite child is or my favorite dog of all time is. They’re all great in their own ways. So I don’t necessarily have a favorite. I have a few that stand out in my mind as being the most rewarding experiences. E.T. is probably my favorite film score of all time. So the first time I got to conduct that film in Kansas City was a real treat.
The first three Star Wars films I’ve done those, The New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Those were very fun to conduct. West Side Story, I finally did this this past year. I really enjoyed that. But you know, it’s tough because all these movies that orchestras are doing live now are being done not just because they’re great films, because they have incredible scores. And so anytime we get to play a masterpiece by John Williams, Danny Elfman or Michael Giacchino or any of these other great film composers, it’s a real treat. You know, to me, it’s like being able to play a Brahms or a Beethoven symphony. It has that same type of impact, not only on the audience, but on the orchestra as well. They enjoy playing these film concerts.
So how long have you been conducting with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra? And what is it like to work with that particular Orchestra since I’ve known you worked with numerous orchestras over the course of your career.
Yeah, I started working with the Fairfax company. I think it was about two years ago. I’ve perform three different concerts with them. The first time I worked with them, we worked with Michael Cavanaugh, who’s a great guest artist. He has a Billy Joel show that we did. It was a lot of fun with the orchestra. And then the last two times I’ve been back, have been to work with the Indigo Girls, who are among my favorite artists. They are wonderful ladies to work with and just enjoy their music. And we had a lot of fun both times when I came to Fairfax to do that. The symphony is terrific. You know, it’s a lot of the DC area’s best musicians. And there’s so many great artists, of course, in the DC area. The level of artistry is high. They’re just a wonderful organization, great people, and I always enjoy going back to work in the end.
I’m so glad that you got to mention The Indigo Girls. They were one of my favorite bands in college. I’ve seen them at least four times so far, especially at the last Lillith Fair at the Merriweather Post Pavilion many years ago. So as a conductor, how do you take a normal pop country blues song and give it that symphonic flair?
Well, first of all, you got to find good orchestrators, arrangers, people that really understand how to write for an orchestra to begin with, and then also understand that artists and their musical language and find ways to incorporate the orchestra into their music without altering the original too much. Because, of course, fans of whatever the artist is, come to see that artist, and they have always heard that song, especially the hit songs, in a particular way. And what an orchestra can do is add so much more color and variety of sounds to the already existing chart. You know, when you get the full majesty of the brass, where you add some delicate percussion, perhaps create a really magical effect on the strings, of course, when they can play extremely lush, beautiful harmonies, very soaring lines over top of a song that everyone already knows and loves. So, finding a great arranger and orchestrator is the key. And when you pair a great arranger with a great artist, to begin with, I’ve never had an experience where it has not been an elevated version of the original tunes, and so it gives the audience a chance to hear a version that they’ve never heard before. They can only experience that in the concert hall with a four orchestra on stage with the band.
When it comes to a conductor, they have to engage with the audience during the performance. What is your trick of the trade to engage with the audience?
I love talking with the audience as much as possible. That’s why I love most of the concerts I do are films or pops concerts. I still do some classical concerts as well, but even on those, I feel like the wall has been broken down quite a bit over the years. You know, it used to be the maestro who would walk out on stage and everything would be silent, start this serious piece of music. And then that still happens sometimes, of course. But I feel like conductors in general want to be able to give the audience sort of an insider baseball view of what’s happening in a piece of music. So especially if it’s a newer piece of music that maybe most of the audience has not heard before, I always like to try to set it up with some things to listen to, etc. When it comes to pops concerts, I love to share not only information about the artists, but also information, you know, some historical information about collaborations they’ve had in the past, or who their influences were.
Sometimes I’ll program a piece. If they were influenced by the Beatles, I’ll put a Beatles to her there to open up the second half, or something like that. I love getting to know the artist personally. And I’ve worked with Lyle Lovett several times, for instance, and he loves horses. So, I programmed Dartmoor 1912 for the movie “War Horse” by John Williams at a few of his concerts. So, it’s fun to kind of pair those things together and kind of blend their professional life with their personal life a little bit. But I always love talking to the audience even in these movie concerts and tell them what to expect and to have a great time. How often do you get to see a movie with over a thousand other people at the same time in the same room, especially with a live orchestra playing every note in a score? So I would like to set it up to be a fun evening for them, and just help them feel relaxed and at ease when they come into the concert hall.
My last question is this, for the person who is getting ready to start to be part of a band, what advice would you give them to continue their path to becoming a successful musician?
That’s a great question, and I would say, based on my own personal experience, don’t give up, because kids start instruments, usually in elementary school, and they think, okay, this is going to be easy. This is going to be fun, you know, because they’re used to hearing people play instruments and play them well, and it’s tough. No matter if you pick a string instrument, wing instrument, brass, percussion, whatever it may be, it’s tough at first, and it takes a lot of discipline, a lot of practice, and, you know, a lot of kids are busy doing other things as well. They have homework, and it’s tough to be disciplined and to practice every day, or at least a few days a week, when you’re starting out. And there were several times along my path that I almost quit, and my parents said you should really stick with it a little longer, because if you just work a little harder, and, you know, get to this point, then you’re gonna be able to play more difficult music and some of the music you really want to play, etc. And so sure enough, they were right, of course. And if I had quit, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.
You know, I would be in an office building somewhere, working or a scientist, who knows, but I’m so glad that they continue to push me and encourage me. And my teachers did as well. I had fantastic music teachers along the way that encouraged me. And so, I would just say, if you’re if you’re starting an instrument, great, because number one, it should be fun more than anything, but it is also work. So put in the work. Stay focused. Believe, believe your parents when they tell you that you should stick with it. Work hard and keep practicing, because one day it all pays off if you decide to pursue a career music, and even if you don’t, you at least have a lifelong appreciation for not only music, but the discipline and the focus and the teamwork that it takes to play in an ensemble. There are so many other intangible things you learn in a band, orchestra or chorus, besides just music, those life lessons will stick with you no matter what pursuit. So, I would say, stick with it. Have fun with and keep chugging along.
See Jason and the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra perform Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: Live In Concert This Friday. November 7th at 7:30pm. Tickets are available thru Ticketmaster, click HERE to purchase them and enjoy This is Halloween once more, LIVE!
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