"Symphony!" and "~Dear Friends Concert" merged

[The Captain]

"Square Enix U.S.A., Inc. announced today that they will present the first Final Fantasy symphony concert in the U.S. on Monday, May 10, 2004, at the prestigious Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Calif. The performance will feature music from Final Fantasy, performed by the acclaimed Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

"I am overjoyed about the Final Fantasy concert to be held in Los Angeles," said series composer Nobuo Uematsu. "With this being the first Final Fantasy orchestral concert outside of Japan, it marks a very exciting moment in the history of the franchise. I am looking forward to seeing our fans at the concert in May."

"FINAL FANTASY's award-winning scores have captivated gamers worldwide and now we have an opportunity to share some of the series' most memorable melodies with our fans and concertgoers for the first time in the U.S.," said Jun Iwasaki, president and CEO, Square Enix U.S.A. "We are thrilled to bring this event to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the new home of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The audience will be able to experience the emotionally-moving and powerful scores that have made melodies of Final Fantasy the finest in games."

Uematsu will create the score for the two-hour concert. Featuring a full orchestra and a 32-person choir, this concert will mark the first of its kind in the U.S. A dedicated Web site featuring composer Uematsu, the "favorite Final Fantasy music" fan survey and concert information can be found at http://www.square-enix-usa.com/uematsu. Additional information about the concert including ticket sales, prices and on-sale dates will be announced at a later date.

The first Final Fantasy concert was held in Japan in February 2002, performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Led by famed conductor Taizo Takemoto (New Japan Philharmonic), the sold-out concert was held at the Tokyo International Forum with over 5,000 guests. Building upon the success of the first concert, Square Enix recently announced a six-city, seven-show concert series titled "Tour de Japon -- music from Final Fantasy" which will be held this coming March and April in Japan.

Nobuo Uematsu was named as one of the "Innovators" in Time Magazine's "Time 100: The Next Wave -- Music" feature. Square Enix hopes to pioneer the appreciation and awareness of not only its musical creations, but also video game music throughout the industry. Currently available exclusively on America Online's Radio@ Network, the Final Fantasy radio station features 200 tracks from the top-selling Final Fantasy video games and is available for listeners on Radio@AOL, Radio@AOL for Broadband and Radio@Netscape under the "Soundtracks & More" category. This is the first ever radio station on the AOL Radio@ Network dedicated to a single video game franchise" -

I received this from a friend a few days ago and thought I'd post it. This same event was also featured in the New York Times this morning.

Anyone planning on attending this event?

Take care all.

[ChocoboRider]

i would have loved to go to this, if only for two things.

1 - not enough money

2 - IT'S TODAY!!!

[Felldoh]

I'd too, but can't for the same reasons as ChocoboRider, and that I live in Minnesota.

[Jalbrean]

I wanted to go so bad, but couldn't afford it. =\

I'll wait for the cd to be released, which I have no doubts, there will be a cd for it. ;>

[BatChao]

I had a ticket and was all set to go, but then I found out I have a midterm the day after the concert, so I had to sell my ticket. I was really sad. It's probably over by now... I hope my friends had a good time.

[cykak]

On May 10th, I notice a large group outside the beautiful Walt Disney Concert Hall. The event was sold out in three days which is amazing and just goes to show the popularity of Final Fantasy. I could spot a mixture of Japanese foreigners and some cute chicks being engulfed by nerdy, four-eyed, video game freaks. I met some fans of the game and also those who never even played Final Fantasy and just loved Nobuo Uematsu's music. While waiting to buy a $20 t-shirt that also sold programs for $25 @_@, I had a good chat with a girl, 19 years of age, who flew all the way from Minnesota. Her favorite FF is 7 of course. She was only staying for that night and planned to fly back for work the next day. Other people I had a chance to talk with were those who worked in the video game industry. One guy works at THQ and was currently programming the Sponge Bob Square-pants game in addition to starting the game based off the new Pixar flick, The Incredibles. Apparently he and his friends will be attending this weeks e3 expo (video game mecca of the year.)

Inside the hall I was able to see the whole orchestra. Large screens were just above them to show clips of the Final Fantasy series from 7, 8, 9, 10, and Advent Children while showing close ups of the people in the orchestra.
Nobuo Uematsu showed up with an entourage of some Japanese guys each of them with dates of Japanese women in kimonos. XD A standing ovation was given when Nobuo first walked in. He likes to play with the crowd by spreading his arms out and lowering them to quiet the crowd; then he would suddenly raise them high to get the crowd to applaud even louder again. ^_^

The host for the event was James Arnold Taylor, the voice actor of Tidus from FF X. His wit and charm required him to read of a cheap white board with his lines scribbled on it. It didn't surprise me that he messed up a few times. He cracked some jokes about how popular Final Fantasy VII still is even though it didn't have voice actors and "blitzball." I was sitting in the perfect position to snipe him to end his bantering. XP

Hearing a live performance of Uematsu's work was simply amazing. Hears the song list that they played that night.

• "Liberi Fatali" (Final Fantasy VIII)
  "Zanarkand" (Final Fantasy X)
  "Terra's Theme" (Final Fantasy VI)
  "Theme of Love" (Final Fantasy IV)
  "Dear Friends" (Final Fantasy V)
  "Vamo' Alla Flamenco" (Final Fantasy IX)
  "Love Grows" (Final Fantasy VIII)
  "Aeris's Theme" (Final Fantasy VII)
  "Not Alone" (Final Fantasy IX)
  "Ronfaure" (Final Fantasy XI)
  "Final Fantasy I - III Medley"
  "New Melody From Final Fantasy VII Advent Children"
  "Final Fantasy" (Theme)
  "One Winged-Angel" FF 7

There was the conductor, 25 violinist, wind instruments, piano, a choir of 30 to 40 that was barely used, etc. Liberi Fatali from FF 8 set the mood perfectly. The impact of the choir immediately quieted the sold out crowd. Zanarkand came after that with a calming effect with the FMV scene of Yuna dancing on water. One of the songs that received some of the loudest applause was Aeris's Theme. Seems like there were definitely a lot of FF 7 fans in attendance. If only we all had an orchestra in our living rooms while playing these games. XD

I was observing Nobuo's reaction to the orchestra. Through out he seemed very attentive with his left hand under his chin while drooping in his chair.

When it was said to be over, Nobuo Uematsu came on stage to give a few words. He thanked all the fans in attendance in addition to all the fans in the world for the support. Never did he imagin an event like this would have occurred. The first symphony in the United States where music from a video would be played to a sold out audience.

To everyone's surprise Hironbu Sakaguchi and Yoshitaka Amano was in attendance. They came up on stage with an interpreter. Yoshitaka needed her to translate his long speeches which a lot of fans got a kid out of. Good thing Sakaguchi knew some English as its his second language. Jokingly, Gooch turned to Nobuo and thanked him for creating some NICE music for his games. XD When describing Final Fantasy, he corrected the interpreter when he said Final Fantasy was his baby project.

After that, the orchestra played their last song which was a surprise to everyone. One Winged-Angel ended the evening perfectly. An event filled with a lot of energy and love. The perfect start for Square-Enix as they start e3 this week. If the film FF: AC is just as good as the song that was performed, it should be a good year for Sakaguchi and company.

Gamespot Article about the event

Clips of the Dear Friends event will also be shown on Techtv's X-Play as the chick from the show was interviewing fans there.