Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour-
| This article is about the Kingdom Hearts concert. You may be looking for the gameplay mode in Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory. |
| Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- | |
|---|---|
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| Premiered | March 10, 2017 |
| Composer | Yoko Shimomura |
| Performers | Tokyo Philarmonic Orchestra (Tokyo) Marne-la-Vallée Symphony Orchestra (Paris) Royal Philarmonic Orchestra (London) Metropolitan Festival Orchestra (Singapore) Selangor Symphony Orchestra (Kuala Lampur) City Chamber Orchestra (Hong Kong) Osaka Symphony Orchestra (Osaka) |
| Countries | Japan France United Kingdom Singapore Malaysia China United States Australia Canada Brazil Germany Italy South Korea Mexico |
Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- is an official orchestral concert of Kingdom Hearts music performed by a full orchestra. It is the first orchestral concert and first world tour for the series's music. It was created for the 15th anniversary of the series.
The concert was announced on the Kingdom Hearts Japanese Twitter page[1] on April 26, 2016. A Facebook page and website were created to promote the concert. The concert premiered on March 10, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan.
On March 1, 2018, an encore concert tour was announced, with 18 performances worldwide, including two in São Paulo, Brazil. Additionally, plans for performances in 2019 to celebrate the release of Kingdom Hearts III were also revealed.[2]
DevelopmentEdit
According to both series director Tetsuya Nomura and series music composer Yoko Shimomura, the idea for concerts based on the music of the Kingdom Hearts series had been discussed for a long time. Yoko Shimomura created a rough draft of the concert program, which Tetsuya Nomura checked and accepted. Unlike the Concert -First Breath- performances, all the performances for Orchestra -World Tour- have videos from the games that accompany each musical piece—with the exception of "Twinkle Twinkle Holidays", which did not feature a video.[3]
As part of the announcement of the concert, both Nomura and Shimomura released statements:
- "The idea of a KINGDOM HEARTS concert has been in the works for several years, but even so, I was astonished to learn that our music would be performed by a full orchestra, in other countries no less. I've been given the opportunity to oversee the creation of the title, logo, and many other aspects of this amazing production, and as the director of the series, I am confident that what we've created will touch the hearts of our beloved fans everywhere.
The World Tour is slated for 2017, the same year as the KINGDOM HEARTS 15th anniversary. In the meantime, fans will get a chance to explore the world of KINGDOM HEARTS II.8, which is coming out later this year. I hope the excitement and joy they get from the experience will only increase their anticipation for the release of KINGDOM HEARTS III." - —Tetsuya Nomura
- "I heard this quite often, and it echoed my own feelings. I've wanted to have a concert for some time, and I'm happy to announce that it's finally become a reality. When I began composing for the KINGDOM HEARTS series, I couldn't even dream this day would come. But it has, thanks to our beloved fans. This concert and the music of KINGDOM HEARTS could not have existed without their undying support. I can't thank them enough. The concert will encompass my feelings toward the series and those dear to me around the world. I look forward to seeing everyone there!"
- —Yoko Shimomura
PerformancesEdit
During the initial announcement in 2017, eleven performances were announced. The positive reaction to the announcement prompted the creation of four additional performances: May 13 in Kuala Lumpur, June 11 in Los Angeles, June 23 in New York, and July 8 in Osaka. The Hong Kong performance was originally scheduled for May 28, 2017 at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Shanghai, but was moved to Hong Kong on April 14.[4]
| Date | Hall | Location |
| March 10–11, 2017 | Tokyo International Forum A | Tokyo, Japan |
| March 18–19, 2017 | Salle Pleyel | Paris, France |
| March 24–25, 2017 | Central Hall Westminster | London, England |
| May 6–7, 2017 | Esplanade Concert Hall | Singapore, Singapore |
| May 13, 2017 | Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre Plenary Hall | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| May 21, 2017 | AsiaWorld-Expo Runway 11 | Hong Kong, China |
| June 10–11, 14, 2017 | Dolby Theatre | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| June 23–24, 2017 | United Palace Theatre | New York, New York, United States |
| July 8, 2017 | Orix Theatre | Osaka, Japan |
The 2018 encore performances began later in the year, and features three more performances in twice as many locations. The event returned only to Los Angeles at the beginning of the world tour in June, but in a different venue.
| Date | Hall | Location |
| June 9, 2018 | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| July 7, 2018 | Sydney Opera House | Sydney, Australia |
| July 13, 2018 | Auditorium Theatre | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| July 14, 2018 | Fisher Theatre | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| July 16, 2018 | Heinz Hall | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| July 19, 2018 | Wang Theatre | Boston, Massachusetts, United States |
| July 21, 2018 | Sony Centre | Toronto, Canada |
| July 26, 2018 | Fox Theatre | Atlanta, Georgia, United States |
| July 28, 2018 | Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie | Dallas, Texas, United States |
| August 2, 2018 | Mann Centre | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| August 4, 2018 | Symphony Hall | Phoenix, Arizona, United States |
| August 5, 2018 | The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States |
| August 12, 2018 | Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States |
| September 8–9, 2018 | Teatro Bradesco | São Paulo, Brazil |
| September 15, 2018 | The Gasteig | Munich, Germany |
| September 22, 2018 | Teatro Dal Verme | Milan, Italy |
| October 6, 2018 | KBS Hall | Seoul, South Korea |
| October 20, 2018 | Auditorium Blackberry | Mexico City, Mexico |
ProgramEdit
The performance is approximately two hours long, and features seventeen pieces of musical arrangements from the Kingdom Hearts series. The musical pieces were performed by a full orchestra and were accompanied by gameplay footage from all the games. Additionally, the performances featured segments considered canon to the series, including conversations by Kairi, Xion, and Aqua, performed by their Japanese voice actors on-stage. The Tokyo performance on March 11 first featured the conversations by performances of Kairi, Xion, and Aqua's voice actors; subsequent performances featured only the audio with translated subtitles on-screen. The Los Angeles performance on June 10, which coincided with the beginning of E3 2017 in Los Angeles, also premiered a new trailer for Kingdom Hearts III.
The 2018 performances added three songs, with "Dearly Beloved -χ Back Cover Ver.-" replacing "Dearly Beloved -KINGDOM HEARTS II Ver.-" and "Traverse Town" replacing "Twinkle Twinkle Holidays". "Toy Box Medley" is the first public performance of a theme from Kingdom Hearts III.
| Piece | Composer | Arrangement |
| "HIKARI - Kingdom Orchestra Instrumental Version-" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada |
| "Dearly Beloved -KINGDOM HEARTS II Ver.-" (2017) / "Dearly Beloved -χ Back Cover Ver.-" (2018) | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada |
| "Destati" | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka |
| "Organization XIII" | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka |
| "Twinkle Twinkle Holidays" (2017) / "Traverse Town" (2018) | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka |
| "Treasured Memories" | Yoko Shimomura | Sachiko Miyano |
| "The World of KINGDOM HEARTS" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada |
| "Fate of the Unknown" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada |
| "Threats of the Land: KINGDOM HEARTS Battle Medley" | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka |
| Intermission | ||
| "Heroes and Heroines: Characters' Medley" | Yoko Shimomura | Souhei Kano |
| "Lazy Afternoons ~ At Dusk, I Will Think of You..." | Yoko Shimomura | Souhei Kano |
| "Vector to the Heavens" | Yoko Shimomura | Sachiko Miyano |
| "Wave of Darkness" | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka |
| "Daybreak Town: The Heart of χ" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada |
| "The Other Promise" | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka |
| "Let Darkness Assemble: Final Boss Battle Medley" | Yoko Shimomura | Sachiko Miyano |
| "Passion -KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version-" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada |
| "Fantasia alla marcia for piano, chorus and orchestra" | Yoko Shimomura | ??? |
| "Toy Box Medley" (2018) | Yoko Shimomura | ??? |
AlbumEdit
An album for the concert was announced for public sale on March 12, 2017,[5] and features several, but not all, of the pieces performed at the concert. Originally, the album was available exclusively at each performance. The album released on April 14, 2017 for 3564 yen. On June 26, 2017, Square Enix announced on the Kingdom Hearts Twitter page that the album would be available on the North American online store in August 2017[6] for $40.[7]
| Track | Title | Length | Arranger | Composer |
| 1 | "Dearly Beloved -KINGDOM HEARTS II Ver.-" | 4:10 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 2 | "Destati" | 3:22 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 3 | "Treasured Memories" | 4:01 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 4 | "The World of KINGDOM HEARTS" | 9:59 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 5 | "Fate of the Unknown" | 3:30 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 6 | "Threats of the Land: KINGDOM HEARTS Battle Medley" | 8:12 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 7 | "Heroes and Heroines: Characters' Medley" | 12:32 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 8 | "Vector to the Heavens" | 5:46 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 9 | "Wave of Darkness" | 3:11 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 10 | "Daybreak Town: The Heart of χ" | 4:05 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 11 | "The Other Promise" | 5:13 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
| 12 | "Let Darkness Assemble: Final Boss Battle Medley" | 7:58 | Yoko Shimomura | Yoko Shimomura |
MerchandiseEdit
The performance events also featured additional event-exclusive merchandise for sale. The products included T-shirts, the album, and an orchestra guide.
- The Album was originally an event-exclusive product, and costs 3500 yen.
- The Orchestra Guide is a forty-page guide to the performance, including messages from Yoko Shimomura and Tetsuya Nomura, musical commentary, and the text from Terra and Naminé's conversation from the Kingdom Hearts Concert -First Breath- performances. It cost 2500 yen.
- A Keyblade-shaped baton cost 3700 yen.
- An original concert-inspired T-shirt cost 3000 yen
- A card holder, which also holds the tickets for the concert, cost 2000 yen
- A concert-themed purse cost 3500 yen
See alsoEdit
Notes and referencesEdit
- ^ Twitter Announcement of Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour-
- ^ Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- Encore! - La Fée Sauvage
- ^ Interview with Tetsuya Nomura and Yoko Shimomura, 29 November 2016, part of the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- Program Guide
- ^ Facebook Announcement moving Shanghai performance to Hong Kong
- ^ Twitter Announcement of Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- Album
- ^ Twitter announcement - Orchestra World Tour Album on North American store
- ^ Square Enix Online Store - KINGDOM HEARTS Orchestra - World Tour - CD