Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour-

Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World Tour- is an official orchestral concert of  music performed by a full orchestra. It is the first orchestral concert and first world tour for the series music. It was created for the 15th anniversary of the series.

The concert was announced on the Kingdom Hearts Japanese Twitter page 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.

Shortly after the announcement, series director Tetsuya Nomura and series music composer Yoko Shimomura released statements regarding the concert. Nomura said, "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."

Yoko Shimomura said, "'Please have a KINGDOM HEARTS orchestral concert.' 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!"

Performances
During the initial announcement, 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.

Program
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.

Album


An album for the concert was announced for public sale on March 12, 2017, 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.

Merchandise
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