Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra

Philharmonia Fantastique is a 25-minute concerto for orchestra & animated film that follows a magical Sprite on a musical journey through the instruments of the orchestra. By the film’s end, the families of the orchestra overcome their differences to demonstrate “unity from diversity” in a spectacular finale.

In the spirit of such self-referential educational works for young listeners as Benjamin Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra,” Walt Disney’s “Fantasia” or Lenny Bernstein’s expository outings on programs including “Omnibus,” Bates’s work is a section-by-section guided tour of the modern orchestra.

“A truly magnificent achievement…In the art of marrying music with animation, Philharmonia Fantastique is the biggest step forward since Fantasia itself.”

“It’s a noble enterprise, with deeper ideals about human diversity and unity. Bates is, as ever, an engaging musical storyteller.”

“Music itself has always been a marriage of technology and art. We use both new and old technologies to explore how music comes together, how radically different sounds and techniques converge into the full sound of an orchestra.”

“Mason Bates’ genre-defying works demonstrate considerable artistry.”

“Mason Bates, Musical America’s 2018 Composer of the Year, is carrying a lot on his shoulders. At a time when classical music is eagerly, anxiously, even desperately trying to connect with a younger generation, Bates is one of the rare composers who is at once popular, hip, and active at the large classical-music institutions-opera houses and orchestras-that are having the hardest time winning young audiences.”

Watch on Apple TV and Apple Music

Philharmonia Fantastique was written by Mason Bates, and co-created with multi Academy Award winning Gary Rydstrom, and Academy Award nominated animation director Jim Capobianco.

The Making of the Orchestra

Philharmonia Fantastique was written by Mason Bates, and co-created with multi Academy Award winning Gary Rydstrom, and Academy Award nominated animation director Jim Capobianco.

Upcoming Performances

Philharmonia Fantastique: NSO Family Concerts (screening)

Sunday March 29, 2026

2:00 pm

The Kennedy Center, 2700 F St. NW, Washington, DC, United States

Wheeling Symphony

Tuesday April 7, 2026

All Day

Wheeling Symphony, 1025 Main St., Suite 811, Wheeling, WV

Wheeling Symphony

Wednesday April 8, 2026

All Day

Wheeling Symphony, 1025 Main St., Suite 811, Wheeling, WV

Sprite’s World

An exciting dive inside Philharmonia Fantastique to gain a deeper understanding of the orchestra and orchestral music through visual storytelling and hands-on activities.