Remembering Howard Ashman with Disney Legend Don Hahn and Special Guests

Join us for a special Pride Month screening of Howard (2018)—a documentary about Disney Legend and songwriter Howard Ashman, whose work included penning beloved songs for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ The Little Mermaid (1988), Beauty and the Beast (1991), and Aladdin (1992). Following the screening, Don Hahn—who wrote and directed Howard (2018)—will have a fireside chat with Chris Montan, former President of Walt Disney Music, and Jacob Stensberg, the Conductor and Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, about Ashman’s legacy and lasting impact. 

Children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult who shall be responsible for the child at all times.

An autograph signing with the speakers will follow the conclusion of this event, exclusive for all program ticketholders.

Tickets for Remembering Howard Ashman with Disney Legend Don Hahn and Special Guests are available as follows:

• Walt’s Circle Donors: Purchase tickets beginning Wednesday, May 29 at noon by emailing membership@wdfmuseum.org.
• Founding, Supporter, and Friend-level members: Purchase tickets beginning Thursday, May 30 at noon by emailing membership@wdfmuseum.org.
• All member levels: Purchase tickets online beginning Friday, May 31 at noon via the Member Portal.
• Public (non-members): Remaining tickets available online beginning Saturday, June 1 at noon

Upgrade your membership to receive priority access to purchase tickets. Membership dues and Walt's Circle donations may be paid as monthly installments or as a one-time annual payment. For more information, please email the Membership Department at membership@wdfmuseum.org.

Disney Legend Don Hahn has produced some of the most successful animated films of all time, including Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Beauty and the Beast (1991)—the first animated feature to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar®—and the global phenomenon The Lion King (1994).

He studied music and art before starting at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1976 in the basement of the Ink & Paint Building where animation art was stored before the Walt Disney Animation Research Library was established . He soon worked for Woolie Reitherman, Disney Legend and one of Walt Disney’s legendary “Nine Old Men” who directed One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) and The Jungle Book (1967)—movies that Hahn idolized as a kid.

Hahn’s credits include The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Emperor’s New Groove (2000), Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), and Maleficent (2014). Three of his films—Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King—are now in the Library of Congress collection as culturally, historically, and esthetically important.

His documentaries Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009), the seminal film about the Disney renaissance of the late-1980s through the 1990s, and Howard (2018), a biography on the life of influential songwriter Howard Ashman, were shown at film festivals and can now be seen on Disney+. He produced Richard M. Sherman: Songs of a Lifetime for PBS in 2015. He was a founder and Executive Producer of the acclaimed Disneynature nature documentary film series.

Hahn serves on the advisory board of The Walt Disney Family Museum and is a former trustee of PBS SoCal. He has been honored with two Academy Award® nominations, an Emmy® for his PBS documentary Freedom Writers: Stories from the Heart, two Golden Globes® for Best Picture, and two Honorary Doctorate degrees. In 2022, he was inducted as a Disney Legend, awarded to those who have made extraordinary and integral contributions to The Walt Disney Company.

Chris Montan joined The Walt Disney Company in 1984, and within three years was named vice president of music for motion pictures and television. In 1997, Variety named him “musical supervisor of the decade” after he oversaw such classic and best-selling film soundtracks as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Pretty Woman, Sister Act, Aladdin, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Hercules. Chris was named President of Walt Disney Music in 1999 and was responsible for overseeing music for Disney and Pixar animated feature films, Disney Theatrical stage productions, and Disney Parks and Resorts, worldwide. He served as executive music producer for all of the Studios’ animated features during his tenure, working closely in the story development process as well as helping to select musical talent. His work has been nominated for multiple Grammy Awards, winning Best Original Cast Recording for Aida and Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for Frozen, with additional films receiving 45 musical Academy Award nominations and 16 Academy Awards in the Best Original Song and Best Original Score categories.

Jacob Stensberg is the Conductor and Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and the Chan National Queer Arts Center. Prior to his appointment with SFGMC, he was the Assistant Director for Purdue Musical Organizations at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

While at Purdue, Stensberg worked with 300+ students in eight different ensembles, performing in annual traditions like the Purdue Christmas Show, as well as writing and performing custom music for special events like NASA’s 50th anniversary of the moon landing in 2019. In addition to his work at Purdue, Stensberg enjoyed working with Butler University (Indianapolis) choirs and orchestras, the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, the Circle City Chamber Choir, the Booth Tarkington Civic Theater, Zach&Zack Productions, BOBDIREX, the Eclectic Pond Theatre Company, and the Civic Theater of Lafayette. 

Stensberg received his formal and formative training from Dr. Kristina Boerger at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree. He earned his Master of Music degree in Conducting from Butler University where he studied with Dr. Eric Stark.