Joe Hisaishi, composer, conductor, and pianist, was named composer-in-residence of The Philadelphia Orchestra in October 2025. In this role, he will record a major commercial release, provide mentorship for students of composition in Philadelphia through partnerships with schools and conservatories, curate a series of contemporary music concerts, and conduct The Philadelphia Orchestra in Marian Anderson Hall in the 2025–26 and 2026–27 seasons, including leading the world premiere of his Piano Concerto with Alice Sara Ott, a work written for the pianist, in spring 2027. He made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in June 2025. Mr. Hisaishi 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. He 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.
Mr. Hisaishi’s recent symphonic engagements have seen him conducting the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Vienna Symphony. Alongside his film music works, he conducts classical repertoire from the likes of Ravel, Reich, Musorgsky, Brahms, and Pärt, and his own symphonic compositions such as DA•MA•SHI•E and The East Land Symphony. Mr. Hisaishi also had a successful week-long residency with the Seattle Symphony, where he led three sold-out concerts, as well as curated and conducted a chamber concert dedicated to contemporary music from his peers and a panel discussion with young audience members. After a successful debut at the Hollywood Bowl in 2023, he returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the world premiere of his Harp Concerto, commissioned by that orchestra and performed by its harpist, Emmanuel Ceysson.
In 2025 Mr. Hisaishi makes debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and at the BBC Proms with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, where his work The End of the World is programmed with Mr. Reich’s Desert Music. He also returns to the orchestras of Chicago and Toronto, and will premiere his new Concerto for Orchestra with various high-level partners globally.
Renowned for his long-standing collaboration with Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki, Mr. Hisaishi has won international awards for his scores. His popular soundtracks for Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Ponyo, among others, capture his sensitive and imaginative amalgamation of the symphonic and Minimalist genres. Many of these iconic works have been brought to huge live audiences in his recent sold-out performances in Madison Square Garden in New York, La Defense in Paris, Olympic Hall in Munich, and the Tokyo Dome over 3 concerts, each with a 40,000-person audience. He performed a two-day residency at Royal Albert Hall in London in autumn 2024 for his “Hisaishi Symphonic” live shows, which included the Princess Mononoke Suite and his Symphony No. 2, as well as the Four Sea Interludes from Britten’s Peter Grimes with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
A Deutsche Grammophon exclusive artist, Mr. Hisaishi has released the titles Merry-Go-Round of Life and A Symphonic Celebration, both of which are new arrangements that bring a fresh excitement to his Studio Ghibli masterpieces. Joe Hisaishi in Vienna features the world premiere recordings of two of his compositions—Symphony No. 2 and Viola Saga with the Vienna Symphony and soloist Antoine Tamestit—and his most recent recording, Joe Hisaishi Conducts, released in August 2025, includes the music of Mr. Reich alongside Hisaishi’s 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.
As a passionate pioneer of contemporary music, Mr. Hisaishi collaborates with similar experimental artists including Nico Muhly, Bryce Dessner, Nadia Sirota, Phillip Glass, David Lang, and Terry Reilly. Since 2014 he has presented his eponymous “MUSIC FUTURE” concerts in Tokyo, bringing together the works and talents of these notable collaborators. Volume 11 of the series enjoyed an airing in Tokyo in summer 2024 and he has also previously travelled with the series to Carnegie Hall in 2022 and Seattle in 2024. He holds a Young Composer’s Competition every year to inspire and empower young composers, and the winning composition makes its world premiere at his MUSIC FUTURE concerts.
Mr. Hisaishi is the recipient of both the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, given by the government of Japan. He is the music director of the Japan Century Symphony Orchestra beginning in the 2025–26 season. He was also appointed composer-in-association of Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in April 2024.