‘Distant Worlds’ a meteoric victory

Have you ever wished to be transported into the mysterious and beautiful world of “Final Fantasy?” On May 6-7, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra took the audience on that journey with the “Distant Worlds” concert featuring music from the popular video game series, at the Woodruff Arts Center.

“Final Fantasy” is a vastly popular series cherished by both casual and hardcore gamers alike.  The legendary composer Nobuo Uematsu was in attendance and was met with a standing ovation from the audience. Uematsu has composed the music for “Final Fantasy” since its debut in 1987, and has since been behind the scenes, composing the beautiful soundtracks to more than a dozen “Final Fantasy” games for Nintendo and PlayStation 3.

The performance offered a multimedia experience with HD video screens displaying scenes from the games alongside the orchestral music. The Georgia Tech Chamber Choir made their Atlanta Symphony debut and performed chorus-driven songs, such as “Liberi Fatali.”  Uematsu came on stage for the encore and offered to sing solo, but quickly returned the mic to conductor Arnie Roth, while performing with the chorus in the epic “One Winged Angel.”

The set list covered songs from just about every “Final Fantasy” game, but “Final Fantasy IV” only made a brief appearance in the audience favorite “Chocobo Medley 2010.” This was the only downside to the concert, as “Final Fantasy IV” contains arguably some of the most dramatic music in the series. The peak of the night’s performance was “Maria and Draco,” an opera song from “Final Fantasy VI.” Soprano Beverly Blouin, tenor Bradley Howard and bass Michael Arens joined together on stage to deliver the heroic yet tragic tale of love lost and regained.

Uematsu’s music contains many leitmotifs and sweeping melodies that were already impressive as MIDI files on cartridges. To hear his music live in a symphony truly brings it alive. The concert was simply not long enough to satiate the ears of adoring fans.

Hardcore “Final Fantasy” fans Chey Wheeler, Caitie Matheny and Jaime Blalock all dressed in costume as characters from “Final Fantasy IV” — as Edward, Rydia and Cecil, respectively.  Wheeler and Matheny are interested in attending SCAD in the future.

“Sometimes I forgot I was even at a live concert because it was so perfect. l’d do it again, a thousand times over,” Wheeler said. “[It was] a perfect combination of two of my loves: ‘Final Fantasy’ and music,” Blalock said.