ST. PETERSBURG — True to the spirit of fun that has followed incoming director Michael Francis, the Florida Orchestra has announced a concert celebrating the musical score of a popular video game.
The orchestra will perform Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy at 8 p.m. Feb. 6 at St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater. Composed by Nobuo Uematsu, Distant Worlds signals with sweeping tones a new age of home entertainment, in which customers clamor for sound systems that make them feel every rumble, roar and note.
The orchestra will play under the baton of guest conductor Arnie Roth. The concert is one of several video game performances the orchestra has put on in recent years, attracting a younger crowd leading up to the hiring of new music director Francis.
Francis makes his official debut Oct. 2 at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa with Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. Along with other favorites including Vivaldi's Four Seasons and Handel's Messiah, the orchestra has scheduled tributes to Led Zeppelin, U2 and the Police later in the season.
What is a video game tribute without a monster screen? The orchestra has that covered, too. Expect the one-winged angel Sephiroth and other characters from Distant Worlds to check in from time to time as the orchestra works its magic.
Tickets for the Distant Worlds and all other orchestra events this season go on sale Aug. 10.
The Florida Orchestra also announced Monday that it has exceeded its fundraising goal of $25 million over three years. The budget surplus, the seventh in nine years, allows the orchestra to continue free outdoor and parks concerts and low and free tickets to children.
Contact Andrew Meacham at ameacham@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2248. Follow @torch437.