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Yamaha Corporation of America,
the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments, has announced a new
phase in its long-standing relationship with The Walt Disney Company that
makes it the official supplier of musical instruments to the Disneyland
Resort.(R)
Under the terms of the renewable five-year agreement, Yamaha will provide
a full complement of musical instruments for use in entertainment productions
and rehearsal halls at the Disneyland Resort. Prior to this formal
relationship, Yamaha and Disney had collaborated on a number of individual
projects over the last 15 years.
The "Happiest Place on Earth" is marking its 50th anniversary with the
18-month-long "Happiest Homecoming On Earth" in 2005 and 2006.
"It is a pleasure to officially make Yamaha part of the Disneyland Resort
family," said Matt Ouimet, president of the Disneyland Resort. "Anyone who
has visited a Disney theme park knows that music is a key part of the
experience. That is why we are excited about working with Yamaha -- a company
with a global reputation for quality, artistry and a commitment to the
development of young people."
Yamaha's relationship with Disney offers opportunities for its authorized
retailers around the country. In addition to the excitement and prestige of
associating with the well-known family entertainment icon, retailers will have
the opportunity to offer instruments for sale that have been played at the
Resort. Instruments will be cycled out of the parks for retail distribution
up to two times per year.
The Walt Disney Company is considered to be one of the largest employers
of professional musicians in the world and Yamaha instruments will appear at
numerous locations throughout the Disneyland Resort. The equipment placed in
the first year will include percussion products, pianos -- including a CFIII
nine-foot concert grand for the Grand Ballroom of the Disneyland Hotel,
digital pianos, synthesizers and amplifiers. Additional equipment placements
will be made each year throughout the next five years.
In addition to product placement, Yamaha will sponsor the internationally
acclaimed "Disney's Magic Music Days" at the Disneyland Resort, which welcomes
more than 100,000 high school students a year to visit and perform at the
parks. Yamaha's logo will be displayed in the rehearsal halls and Disney's
Magic Music Days back stage areas. Yamaha will also have a sampling of its
technologically-advanced products placed in the "Innoventions" attraction in
Tomorrowland.
"Disney is the world's premier entertainment brand, and Disneyland is the
historical birthplace and focal point of that magic," says Yamaha senior vice
president Terry Lewis. "Our new partnership holds a wealth of strategic
benefits for us, our retailers and for Disneyland, all in a framework that
reinforces the values of music and family that our two organizations share."

So Yamaha joins hands with Mickey Mouse. Who didn't see this one coming??

cktuba wrote:Do they even have live musicians at Disneyworld anymore? We went last year and I can't say that I saw any. I know the original post says highschool musicians but I didn't see any of that either. They used to have several professional groups like the Tubadours and Future Corps... now nothing.

They do not have many professional musicians there anymore. Why pay professionals a dn pay for benefits, when you can get all the high school groups to pay big bucks to come there and play. They don't even give the kids a free day in the park! You would think that would be the least they could do.

ken k

ken k wrote:They do not have many professional musicians there anymore. Why pay professionals a dn pay for benefits, when you can get all the high school groups to pay big bucks to come there and play. They don't even give the kids a free day in the park! You would think that would be the least they could do.

ken k

It sounds to me as if you have a complete grasp of the situation. Not pretty, is it?

I went to Busch Gardens in VA this summer and their music acts were outstanding, better than anything I saw at Disney last spring. The band they had in their Italian pavillion was killer. The lead trumpet was screamin on the old Sinatra tunes and they had a tuba player in that band that laid down all the bass lines. He was a monster. The German band in the Bavarian Oktoberfest tent was very good too. While they didn't really play anything that was incredibly difficult, they were right on and sounded solid. They did a bit with Alp Horns that was very cool. The little "marching" band that played at Water Country USA was good too. They marched around the park and played a few times a day. Solid players, looked like college kids. I wish I would have been able to do that when I was in college. What a summer gig that would be. Beats the hell out of mowing lawns and doing landscape work. They did a bit where they played Hawaii 5-0 in the wave pool. It was great.

I remember in years past, going to Disney and seeing the Future World Brass and the Future Corps and the Tubafours (or was it tubadours?) and the "Extras" band which was a sax quintet complete with soprano alto tenor bari and bass saxes, in MGM and they were awesome. There was a brass quintet in Canada also. I used to plan my daily itinerary around all the performances by Disney groups. Last spring I went to the post office on Main Street in Magic Kingdom to get a performance schedule of the Disney groups and the woman behind the counter looked at me like I was speaking a different language. She had no idea what I was talking about..... sad very sad.
They do still have the Main Street band and they are excellent.
ken k
PS
I must say however, that the Voices of Liberty are still in the American pavillion and they are incredible and there is a new vocal jazz group there that is awesome also (can't remember their name).