Disney’s Moana Live-to-Film Concert opened at The Theatre at Solaire on Oct. 3, with Janella Salvador, Gian Magdangal, and the 78-member Filharmonika Orchestra under Maestro Gerard Salonga. The experience brought the beloved animated film to life in front of families and fans, who were among the first audiences in the world to experience the concert.

The format itself is worth noting. With the film playing in full on the big screen and the orchestra performing the score live in the same room, the experience sits somewhere between a cinema and a concert hall. Every musical moment lands differently when there are 78 musicians playing it in real time, and the audience felt that difference from the very first scene.

Salvador took on the voice of Moana, with “How Far I’ll Go” standing out as the afternoon’s most touching moment. For Salvador, the moment carried added weight: she first recorded a version of the song for the Philippine release of the film back in 2016, making that Saturday afternoon something of a full-circle moment.

Magdangal’s Maui was a crowd favorite from the start. His “You’re Welcome” drew laughs and cheers in equal measure, and he leaned into the character’s humor with a few dance moves that delighted the audience. The Theatre at Solaire was full of families on Saturday afternoon, and Magdangal played to every single one of them.

Maestro Gerard Salonga set the tone early, encouraging the crowd to react freely: to clap, to cheer, to enjoy the show as they would any live concert.

Salonga led the Filharmonika Orchestra steadily through the film’s Grammy-winning score, keeping the music in step with the action on screen without ever overshadowing the vocalists or the film itself. It is a balance that is harder to pull off than it looks.

Disney’s Moana Live-to-Film Concert is a reminder of what makes the film so enduring: a story about finding your place in the world, told through songs that endure. During that afternoon at The Theatre at Solaire, where families and children filled the seats and an orchestra played every note live, Moana’s story felt as fresh and as moving as it did the first time.

Disney’s Moana Live-to-Film Concert was presented by Film Concerts PH
Photos by Jarod Arevalo / Dot Digital Philippines, courtesy of Film Concerts PH