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COPENHAGEN — When you’re a band or an orchestra, and you get a new conductor, do you wait for formal introductions or do you plan a warm and memorable welcome?
If you’re the Danish Radio Big Band (DR Big Band) from Copenhagen, you definitely plan the latter as seen in this featured video.
Composer, arranger, and director Miho Hazama arrived in the Copenhagen Airport from Japan earlier this year. After a long international flight, she probably wanted to get to her accommodations, take a hot shower, and eat non-travel food, but her new band had other ideas.
When she rounds the corner into arrivals, the members of DR Big Band start playing “Willkommen” ("Welcome") from the musical “Cabaret.” Hazama is immediately embarrassed and uses hand gestures to get the band to stop playing, but that’s not about to happen. So she quickly accepts her fate and leans into the performance.
For an extra layer of fun, the band also busts out the lyrics to “Willkommen,” changing the words slightly to make the welcome extra personal. Additionally, she is presented with a conductor's baton on a big, red velvet pillow and a bouquet of roses.
The whole scene is a charming and delightful way to begin a relationship.
To learn more about DR Big Band or hear some of their music, you can visit their website.
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