Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Appoints Composer-in-Association

Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi will assume the role for the next three years

A revered Japanese composer, Joe Hisaishi has written over 100 film scores, including producing all the music for the magical Studio Ghibli animations of Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki. 

Hisaishi was invited to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) as its Composer-in-Association following a successful collaboration on the “Symphonic Celebration” album released on the Deutsche Grammophon label (DG), which he signed with in 2023.

His three-year appointment will include new commissions for the RPO, concerts in London and abroad, studio recordings, plus involvement in new digital and technology-based RPO projects.

This appointment is the latest in a series of strategic additions to the RPO’s leadership team, including the hiring of Sarah Bardwell as the new Managing Director, and of Tom Philpott for the Director of Artistic Planning and Partnerships role.

RPO’s most recent concerts with Hisaishi in Paris sold over 37,000 tickets; seats to the RPO/Hisaishi Royal Albert Hall concerts later this year have already sold out.

“We are thrilled to welcome Joe Hisaishi to the RPO — an enormously talented conductor, composer and pianist and a ground-breaking artist in terms of opening up the world of orchestral music to more diverse audiences,” Philpott stated in the press release. “Maestro Hisaishi’s arrival will make a significant contribution towards realizing the RPO’s mission to enrich lives through orchestral experiences that are uncompromising in their excellence and inclusive in their appeal.”

“I am deeply honored,” Hisaishi said. “I am very much looking forward to collaborating with this wonderful Orchestra on some very exciting projects.”

“The team at DG congratulates Joe Hisaishi on this exciting new artistic partnership with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,” added Kleopatra Sofroniou, DG’s General Manager Classics. “We are pleased that Joe’s collaboration with the Orchestra on his debut album for our label was the start of something bigger — and it’s wonderful that news of this new relationship comes on the same day as we announce Joe’s second DG album ‘Joe Hisaishi in Vienna,’ including world premiere recordings of two of his newest compositions.”