Seattle Times
Certainly a major concern for the future of orchestral music, in large concert venues such as Benaroya Hall, is how to tempt younger people into developing a lifelong taste for it. Roth has one answer: play more adventurous music young people already know, such as composer Nobuo Uematsu’s fascinating soundtrack for the video game “Final Fantasy.” That’s precisely what will happen tonight through Saturday nights at Benaroya, when Roth leads the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the Seattle Choral Company and various soloists through a program called “Distant Worlds: The Music of ‘Final Fantasy.’ ” The show features selections from Uematsu’s eclectic score for the massively popular, role-playing game, which has sold 85 million units and spawned numerous sequels since it was introduced in 1987. Uematsu will be in the audience at all three performances, says Roth, and will make an appearance on stage.