Joe Hisaishi
Composer, Conductor
Hisaishi becomes Composer-in-Residence at the Hollywood Bowl and The Ford starting in the 2027/28 season.
Joe Hisaishi, composer, conductor, and pianist, has established himself as a formidable force in contemporary music for his delicately crafted symphonic and solo works, as well as his globally successful film music. Hisaishi is greatly in demand as a conductor performing with the most notable symphony orchestras across the globe. With nearly 40 solo albums and over 100 film scores to his name, he is one of the most celebrated composers of our time.
Hisaishi’s recent symphonic engagements have seen him conducting the Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras; the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras; Los Angeles, Helsinki, and Rotterdam philharmonic orchestras; and Wiener Symphoniker. In summer 2025, he made his debut at the BBC Proms with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra where his work The End of the World was programmed with Steve Reich’s The Desert Music. He premiered his new work, Concerto for Orchestra, in May 2026 with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC, and continues to conduct the work with high-level orchestras across the globes including Orchestra de Paris, as well as the Iceland, Colorado, and San Francisco symphony orchestras and Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in the 2026/27 season.
As a passionate pioneer of contemporary music, Hisaishi collaborates with similarly experimental artists including Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, Nadia Sirota, Philip Glass, David Lang, and Terry Riley. Since 2014, he has been presenting his eponymous “MUSIC FUTURE” concerts in Tokyo, bringing together the works and talents of these notable collaborators. Volume 13 of the series enjoyed an airing in Tokyo in autumn 2026, and he has also previously traveled with the series to Carnegie Hall, Seattle, and Los Angeles. In 2027, his three MUSIC FUTURE concerts will be hosted and performed by musicians from The Philadelphia Orchestra. Hisaishi holds the Young Composer’s Competition every year to inspire and empower the next generation of composers, with the winning composition making its world premiere at his MUSIC FUTURE concerts.
A Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist, Hisaishi has released the albums A Symphonic Celebration and Joe Hisaishi in Vienna. The latter includes his Viola Saga with soloist Antoine Tamestit and Symphony No. 2, recorded during his triumphant conducting debut at the Vienna Musikverein. Joe Hisaishi Conducts, released in August 2025, includes music of Reich alongside his The End of the World, a work that explores the “anxiety and chaos” resulting from the collapse of global order and values in the aftermath of 9/11. His most recent recording includes his Symphony No. 3, “Metaphysica,” and Harp Concerto featuring celebrated harpist, and Los Angeles Philharmonic principal, Emmanuel Ceysson.
Renowned for his long-standing collaboration with Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki, Hisaishi has composed scores for Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Howl’s Moving Castle, among others, and has won international awards for his works. Many of these iconic works have been brought to huge live audiences in his recent sold-out performances at Madison Square Garden in New York, La Défense Arena in Paris, Olympic Hall in Munich, and Tokyo Dome, where he gave three concerts, each attended by an audience of 40,000. His latest Cinema Music Concerts include scores from films directed by Kitano, Obayashi, Dahan, and Keaton. He brought this program to Festival de Nîmes, the Hollywood Bowl, and Radio City Music Hall in summer 2026, as well as the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in autumn 2026.
Hisaishi is the recipient of both the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, received in 2009, and The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, in 2023 by the government of Japan. Hisaishi is the Music Director with Japan Century Symphony Orchestra from the 2025/26 season. Hisaishi was also appointed as Composer-in-Association of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2024, Composer-in-Residence of The Philadelphia Orchestra in October 2025, and Composer-in-Focus of the Hollywood Bowl and Composer in Association of the Paris Philharmonie in 2026.
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Joe Hisaishi Interview at the Hollywood Bowl
Joe Hisaishi sat down with us at the Holllywood Bowl to talk about what makes his compositions—both for Miyazaki films and the concert stage—so indelible.
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Watch & Listen
Joe Hisaishi on Spotify
Listen to Joe Hisaishi on Spotify.
Podcast: Hisaishi Leads Pictures at an Exhibition with Sarah Cahill • LA Phil 2024/25
Educator Sarah Cahill discusses Hisaishi Leads Pictures at an Exhibition with Emmanuel Ceysson.
The Moments That Move Me with Emmanuel Ceysson
The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s principal harp reflects on his favorite pieces, collaboration with composer Joe Hisaishi, and musical upbringing in France.
Past Events
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