Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY

NEW CD RELEASE JUNE 2010!

Distant Worlds II: more music from FINAL FANTASY, a new CD with all new FINAL FANTASY scores that have been performed on the Distant Worlds tour, will be recorded in January! This new CD will be recorded once again on stage in the marvelous acoustics of the Stockholm Konserthuset, and features the world renowned Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of Arnie Roth. This is the same orchestra that recorded the critically acclaimed, #1 rated CD in Japan and #1 in Game music the Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY CD. Susan Calloway will join forces again with Arnie Roth and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic as a featured soloist on this new CD, with the complete list of repertoire to be announced shortly.

See photos from the recording session here.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA ON SALE NOW!

Tickets are on sale NOW for our concerts in Seoul, Korea in February of 2010! We are excited to return to ASIA and perform with the Euro-Asian Orchestra for our first concerts ever in South Korea on February 6th at 2:30 p.m. and 7th at 8:00 p.m. 2010! These performances will feature vocalist Lee Soo Young singing "Suteki da ne" and Nobuo Uematsu will be in attendance!! http://www.leesooyoung.com/ The Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall is the perfect setting for these Distant Worlds concerts! For tickets, visit ff2010.com

Are you planning on attending the concert and traveling from Japan? We have prepared a special tour package for fans traveling from either Narita or Kansai airports. For information about the tour, go to travel4u.jp

CHICAGO DECEMBER 12, 2009

"Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY"
Performed by The Chicagoland Pops Orchestra and the
Elmhurst College Concert Choir
Conducted by Arnie Roth
Rosemont Theatre
December 12, 2009
8:00p.m.
Guest Artist: Nobuo Uematsu and the Chicago Mages
Guest Vocalist: Susan Calloway

The "Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY" concert on December 12, 2009 at 8 p.m. at The Rosemont Theatre, will feature never before heard new works by the Japanese video game composer Nobuo Uematsu from the not yet released FINAL FANTASY XIV game. The premiere of the newly written Final Fantasy XIV music, performed by the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, will pre-date the release of the video game and will give fans an exclusive opportunity to be the first to hear the music live and in concert. "We've never done anything like this before as we typically perform music after the release of each particular video game. The fans attending the Chicago concert will be the first to hear the music performed by over 100 performers, including a live orchestra and chorus, before hearing it on their computers when they play the game! This video game music sneak peak is an exciting new prospect that Square Enix Co.,Ltd.(Square Enix) has allowed us to present and should be a thrilling premiere for the fans and performers," said Arnie Roth, Music Director and Executive Producer, "Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY."

For more info about the game and to view a trailer for Final Fantasy XIV go to finalfantasyxiv.com

The 2.5-hour program produced by Nobuo Uematsu, Arnie Roth and AWR Music Productions, will be conducted by Grammy Award-winning Arnie Roth, Music Director and Principal Conductor of the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra. The exhilarating gala concert will feature a special guest performance by the composer Nobuo Uematsu, performing Advent: One Winged Angel live on stage with the premiere of the rock band The Chicago Mages. Recording artist Susan Calloway will join Distant Worlds as a featured soloist on new FINAL FANTASY pieces and the Elmhurst College Concert Choir will perform with the orchestra throughout the evening. The award-winning music from Square Enix's world-renowned FINAL FANTASY video game series and the state of the art videos and art stills shown on massive screens will highlight the games most memorable sequences.

"Our fans are eager to hear new works from the vast FINAL FANTASY catalogue of music scores that we haven't yet done on the tour, and we are performing a great selection of the concert tour favorites as well. Our gala concert that night will include a terrific balance of new material and fan favorites," Arnie Roth explained. The program highlights include the world premieres of J-E-N-O-V-A and Dancing Mad, new arrangements of Uematsu's music by Arnie Roth in collaboration with Nobuo Uematsu and these Chicago premieres: FINAL FANTASY VII Main Theme, The Man with the Machine Gun, Suteki da ne, Melodies of Life, Kiss Me Goodbye, FINAL FANTASY SERIES: Prelude, Victory Theme, and a great collection of favorites from the 2009 "Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY" tour!

Tickets to the December 12, 2009 concert are available at http://www.ticketmaster.com

CHICAGO TRAVEL INFO

Special Hotel Deals just for Distant Worlds fans!

Driving or flying in to the concert? Here's two hotels right by the Rosemont Theater that are holding rooms at a great discount. Meet up with other fans before and after the concert. Play FF: Dissidia together on the hotel wide WiFi networks. Fans attending the concert are welcome to hang out in either hotel's restaurant area before and after the concert. All ages are welcome. Special pricing is available at both hotels for parking. See websites for info.

Aloft Chicago O'Hare - $69 discounted rate 847.671.4444
Special rate good until Nov 24th, 2009

Crowne Plaza Chicago O'Hare - $75 discounted rate 888.233.9527
Special rate good until Nov 30th, 2009.

See hotel websites for terms and details. Both deals are subject to availability.

CANADIAN DEBUT!

VANCOUVER OCTOBER 8TH WITH THE VANCOUVER SYMPHONY! ORPHEUM THEATER Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY in Vancouver Canada on October 8th at 8:00pm with the Vancouver Symphony in the Orpheum Theater. Tickets go on sale Monday July 27th at 10am! This performance will include the North American premiere of “The Main Theme from FFVII!" Go to vancouversymphony.ca for more info.

Thank you to the best fans in the world!

Wow! What a fantastic run of concerts we have had so far in 2009! FF Fans are the very best! Thank you for your terrific support and amazing excitement at the concerts in every location.

We had a number of “firsts” on the Distant Worlds U.S. tour this summer. In Detroit our Michigan fans were treated to a special guest artist, and Detroit resident, Susan Calloway, who sang “Memoro de la Stono- Distant Worlds” and also gave the North American premiere of “Kiss Me Goodbye.” Susan is Nobuo Uematsu’s new favorite singer, and he and I will feature her beautiful voice in many more upcoming Distant Worlds concerts as well as for some upcoming new recording projects!

Our wildly successful show in Dallas with the Dallas Symphony was our first show in the southern U.S. and it was completely SOLD OUT! Nobuo sent a special video greeting for this occasion! Who knew he played ping pong?! After that came the Baltimore Symphony concert where we were met by throngs of fans who were the first to experience the Distant Worlds concert on the east coast, along with Uematsu's unique video greeting with his special 'open car' and a sneak peak of the upcoming release of FFXIV - which will be scored entirely by Uematsu!

We just can't say enough about the three memorable Seattle Symphony concerts at Benaroya! Seattle included our first ever 'fish toss!' It was Nobuo's idea for the two of us to throw stuffed fish into the live audience! With two of the three concerts sold out, and the third very nearly sold out as well, it was a truly fantastic experience to perform so many shows in a row in one magnificent venue with such great performers! We also hosted THREE meet and greets with our great DW fans, some of whom came to Seattle from such far-off locations as Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Cayman Islands and from all over the USA.

Our trip to San Francisco included another SOLD OUT show with the esteemed San Francisco Symphony and some of the finest world class vocal soloists. This amazing performance was followed by our first ever after show party with the FF fans at the Crimson Lounge. There were plenty of photo op's at this terrific party! After working so hard performing all around the USA, it was nice to take a break and share some refreshments and chat with the best fans in the world.

Nobuo Uematsu will be at our San Francisco concert!

Detroit concert June 18th Includes Premieres and Bonus Features!

At Nobuo-san's request, "Kiss Me Goodbye" from FFXII will be included in our June 18th performance in DETROIT. "Kiss Me Goodbye" was first performed over three years ago in Japan under the direction of Arnie Roth and has never before been performed as part of Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY. This evening will also include our first performance EVER of "Man with the Machine Gun" from Final Fantasy VIII. Also featured will be the first showing of the FFXIV trailer on the big screen! In addition, a special video with a personal message from Uematsu-san will round out this exciting evening. Don't miss these special events at our live performance with the Detroit Symphony.

"Big news for the fans that I will compose all the music for Final Fantasy XIV! Don't miss the chance to hear my favorite singer at the Distant Worlds concert in Detroit. Susan Calloway will sing the songs, "Distant Worlds" and "Kiss Me Goodbye" ~ Nobuo Uematsu

For a preview, check out this youtube clip. Join us on June 18th for ONE SPECIAL NIGHT with the Detroit Symphony. Tickets are going fast. Log onto detroitsymphony.com or call 313-576-5111 today