Marne-la-Vallée Symphony Orchestra (Paris)
Royal Philarmonic Orchestra (London)
Metropolitan Festival Orchestra (Singapore)
Selangor Symphony Orchestra (Kuala Lampur)
City Chamber Orchestra (Hong Kong)
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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 Sao Paulo, Brazil. Additionally, plans for performances in 2019 to celebrate the release of Kingdom Hearts III were also revealed.[2]
Performances[edit | edit source]
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.[3]
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 |
Nineteen performances were announced in eighteen locations throughout the world for the 2018 encore performances. Unlike the performances in 2017, the 2018 performances began later in the year, in mid-June.
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 |
Program[edit | edit source]
The performance is approximately two hours long, and features eighteen[4] pieces of musical arrangements from the Kingdom Hearts series. The musical pieces were performed by a full orchestra and most were accompanied by in-game 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.
Piece | Composer | Arrangement | Description |
"HIKARI - Kingdom Orchestra Instrumental Version-" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada | The orchestral version of Hikari. |
"Dearly Beloved -KINGDOM HEARTS II Ver.-" (2017) / "Dearly Beloved -χ Back Cover Ver.-" (2018) | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada | The Kingdom Hearts II version of Dearly Beloved. |
"Destati" | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka | An orchestral arrangement of Destati from Drammatica - The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura. |
"Organization XIII" | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka | An orchestral arrangement of Organization XIII from Kingdom Hearts II. |
"Twinkle Twinkle Holidays" (2017) / "Traverse Town" (2018) | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka | An orchestral arrangement of Twinkle Twinkle Holidays from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. An orchestral arrangement of Traverse Town from Kingdom Hearts. |
"Treasured Memories" | Yoko Shimomura | Sachiko Miyano | An orchestral arrangement of Treasured Memories from Kingdom Hearts. |
"The World of KINGDOM HEARTS" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada | A medley comprising of the tracks "Mickey Mouse Club March", "Olympus Coliseum", "A Very Small Wish", "Waltz of the Damned", "Secret of Neverland", "The Silent Forest" from Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. |
"Fate of the Unknown" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada | An orchestral arrangement of "Fate of the Unknown" from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. |
"Threats of the Land: KINGDOM HEARTS Battle Medley" | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka | A medley comprising of the tracks "Night of Fate", "To Our Surprise", "Arabian Dream", "Monstrous Monstro", "An Adventure in Atlantica", "Spooks of Halloween Town", "Pirate's Gigue", and "Scherzo di Notte" from Kingdom Hearts. |
Intermission | |||
"Heroes and Heroines: Characters' Medley" | Yoko Shimomura | Souhei Kano | A medley comprising of the tracks "Sora", "Riku", "Kairi", "Naminé", "Roxas", |
"Lazy Afternoons~At Dusk, I Will Think of You..." | Yoko Shimomura | Souhei Kano | A medley comprising of the tracks "Lazy Afternoons" and "At Dusk, I Will Think of You" from Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. |
"Vector to the Heavens" | Yoko Shimomura | Sachiko Miyano | An orchestral arrangement of "Vector to the Heavens" from Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. |
"Wave of Darkness" | Yoko Shimomura | Sachiko Miyano | An orchestral arrangement of "Wave of Darkness I" from Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Final Chapter Prologue. |
"Daybreak Town: The Heart of χ" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada | An orchestral arrangement of "Daybreak Town" and "Wake Up World!" from Kingdom Hearts χ. |
"The Other Promise" | Yoko Shimomura | Natsumi Kameoka | An orchestral arrangement of "The Other Promise" from Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix. |
"Let Darkness Assemble: Final Boss Battle Medley" | Yoko Shimomura | Sachiko Miyano | A medley comprising of the tracks "Destati", "Guardando Nel Buio", "Darkness of the Unknown", "Dismiss", and "l'impeto Oscuro" from Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, and Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance. |
"Passion -KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version-" | Yoko Shimomura | Kaoru Wada | The orchestral version of "Passion -KINGDOM Orchestra Instrumental Version-" from Kingdom Hearts II. |
"Toy Box Medley" (2018) | Yoko Shimomura | - | The orchestral version of "Toy Box Medley" from Kingdom Hearts III. |
"Fantasia alla Marcia for piano, chorus and orchestra" | Yoko Shimomura | - | The orchestral version of "Fantasia alla Marcia for piano, chorus and orchestra" from "Kingdom Hearts II". |
Album[edit | edit source]
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 | Artist | 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 |
Merchandise[edit | edit source]
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
Development[edit | edit source]
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.[8]
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."
"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!"
See Also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Twitter Announcement of Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour-
- ↑ Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- Encore! - La Fée Sauvage
- ↑ Facebook Announcement moving Shanghai performance to Hong Kong
- ↑ nineteen for the 2018 encore concert tour
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Interview with Tetsuya Nomura and Yoko Shimomura, 29 November 2016, part of the Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- Program Guide