Jun. 6 & 7
Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY
Celebrating FINAL FANTASY XIV and XVI
About This Concert
Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY will be performed live in Houston June 6–7, 2026 with the Houston Symphony at Jones Hall.
Our celebration of the music of FINAL FANTASY XIV and XVI by renowned composer Masayoshi Soken will be led by legendary maestro Arnie Roth, performed by the Houston Symphony and Chorus, and joined by FINAL FANTASY XIV & XVI original vocalist Amanda Achen! This exciting program also features iconic works by Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, Yoko Shimomura, and other great composers from throughout the FINAL FANTASY series.
This special concert includes HD video created by SQUARE ENIX specifically for this tour. Don’t miss out on this multimedia concert experience!
© SQUARE ENIX. All Rights Reserved.
Program
N. UEMATSU/S. MIYANO
Prelude to Final Fantasy
UEMATSU/S. HAMAGUCHI
Liberi Fatali from Final Fantasy VIII
UEMATSU/A. ROTH-E. ROTH
Final FantasyVictory Theme
UEMATSU/R. ISIGE
Battle With the Four Fiends from Final Fantasy IV
UEMATSU/HAMAGUCHI
Zanarkand from Final Fantasy X
M. SOKEN/MIYANO
Songs of Salt and Suffering from Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
SOKEN/MIYANO
Tomorrow and Tomorrow from Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers
SOKEN/MIYANO
Flow from Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
SOKEN/MIYANO
The Final Day from Final Fantasy XIV
UEMATSU/ROTH-ROTH
Chocobo Medley from Final Fantasy
UEMATSU/ROTH-ROTH
Battle Medley 2012 from Final Fantasy Final Fantasy
UEMATSU
Not Alone from Final Fantasy IX
M. HAMAUZU
Blinded By Light from Final Fantasy XIII
Y. SHIMOMURA/MIYANO
Valse di Fantastica from Final Fantasy XV
SOKEN/MIYANO
Away from Final Fantasy XVI
SOKEN/MIYANO
Ascension from Final Fantasy XVI
SOKEN/MIYANO
My Star from Final Fantasy XVI
SOKEN/MIYANO
Find the Flame from Final Fantasy XVI
UEMATSU/HAMAGUCHI
Final Fantasy Main Theme
Tickets
In-Hall Tickets
Saturday, June 6
7:30 P.M. at Jones Hall
Sunday, June 7
2:00 P.M. at Jones Hall
VIP Meet & Greet Tickets
VIP tickets grant admission to a meet & greet event after the concert with conductor Arnie Roth and vocalist Amanda Achen, including an autograph and photo opportunity.
Artists

Arnie Roth
conductor
View Biography

Amanda Achen
vocalist
View Biography

Houston Symphony Chorus
View Biography

Anthony J. Maglione
director, Houston Symphony Chorus
View Biography
Sponsors
Video enhancement of Houston Symphony concerts is made possible by the Albert & Ethel Herzstein Foundation through a special gift celebrating the foundation's 50th anniversary in 2015
Extras
Additional Information
Doors Open:
60 mins. pre-concert
Prelude:
No Prelude
Duration
Approx. 120 mins
Intermission
20 mins.
Age Limit
Age 6+
Tags:
Visitor Info
Parking and Directions
Learn More >In-Hall Experience
Learn More >Ticket Policies
Learn More >Accessibility
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conductor
Arnie Roth
A classically trained violinist, conductor, composer, producer and GRAMMY Award-winning artist, Arnie Roth performs across a wide array of musical genres. Mr. Roth has performed with a host of artists, including Il Divo, Diana Ross, Jewel, The Three Tenors, The Irish Tenors, Charlotte Church, Josh Groban, Patrick Stewart, Branford Marsalis, Peter Cetera, and Andrea Bocelli. He is also a long-time member of the GRAMMY award-winning group Mannheim Steamroller. Orchestras that Mr. Roth has conducted include the London Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Houston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, BBC Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Winnipeg Symphony, Joffrey Ballet, Ravinia Festival, Tokyo Philharmonic, the Colorado Symphony, the WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, and the Sydney Symphony. Arnie Roth brought critical acclaim to the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra as music director and principal conductor showcasing artists including Michael Feinstein, Linda Eder, Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, Wynonna Judd, Judy Collins, the Beach Boys and Johnny Mathis. Under his direction the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra appeared in a nationally broadcast PBS Special featuring The Irish Tenors.
Mr. Roth was the music director and conductor of the national concert tour “Dear Friends: music from FINAL FANTASY.” In 2006 Mr. Roth conducted the new “VOICES: music from FINAL FANTASY” concert in Tokyo with the Tokyo Philharmonic. He then became the principal conductor and music director of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony featuring music from blockbuster video games such as FINAL FANTASY®, World of Warcraft®, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind™, Halo and Battlefield 1942™. As both producer and music director, Arnie Roth premiered Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY in December 2007 with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in Sweden. The release of Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY, recorded by Roth and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, coincided with the start of the Distant Worlds international tour. Distant Worlds continues to thrill audiences around the globe with upcoming performances in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, and has released 4 additional albums of FINAL FANTASY music, as well as several DVD concert experiences.
As music director, conductor and arranger, Mr. Roth was involved in a number of PBS specials including: Charlotte Church: Enchantment - From Cardiff, Wales for Sony, The Irish Tenors: Heritage, the WTTW Soundstage shows featuring: Jewel, Peter Cetera and Symphony, An Evening with Dennis DeYoung, Lyle Lovett, Randy Newman, Michael McDonald and the Doobie Brothers, and WTTW’s Four Seasons in Chicago. In 2006 he was the music director and conductor for a ten part television series for RTE featuring the Irish Tenors. He has appeared on NBC’s Today Show many times, conducting Il Divo, and appeared on the Tonight Show, Good Morning America, Oprah, and many more international television and radio broadcasts.
Mr. Roth’s talents extend into the area of film production and composition as well. He was commissioned by Gerald Arpino, founder and a choreographer of the Joffrey Ballet, to write an original composition for a new Arpino ballet premiered in Chicago that he conducted. He produced and conducted music for the Robert Altman film The Company, and was the producer, composer, conductor and arranger for the CGI animated films from Mattel Entertainment: Barbie™ in The Nutcracker, Barbie™ as Rapunzel, Barbie™ of Swan Lake, Barbie™ in The Princess and the Pauper Movie, Barbie™ in The Magic of Pegasus, Barbie™ Sings! Princess Movie Collection CD, Barbie™in the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Island Princess Barbie, Barbie™and the Diamond Castle, and Barbie™in A Christmas Carol. Mr. Roth won the Best Score Award at the 2003 DVD Premier Awards for his score for the film Barbie™ as Rapunzel, and was nominated for an Emmy in 2007 for his original song “Shine” from the movie Barbie™ in The Twelve Dancing Princesses. 2007 also marked the premiere of Mr. Roth's first live concert creation with Mattel. Barbie™ at the Symphony is a special film with orchestra presentation of the best-selling Barbie™ Princess movies. This was followed by a second live concert production under license with Mattel, Barbie™ in the Nutcracker.
Mr. Roth has produced and conducted music for many films, and has produced dozens of best-selling albums, released on American Gramaphone, JVC, Mattel, Warner Bros., Sony, Koch, and Razor & Tie.
Discography
Sacred: The Irish Tenors with the Czech National Chamber Orchestra (Razor & Tie/BMG), Heritage: The Irish Tenors with the London Symphony Orchestra (Razor & Tie/BMG), We Three Kings: The Irish Tenors with the Czech National Chamber Orchestra (Razor & Tie/BMG), Music of the Joffrey Ballet with the London Symphony Orchestra (Four Winds/Allegro), Trumpet Masterworks with George Vosburgh (Four Winds/Allegro), Trumpeter’s Heritage with George Vosburgh and the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra (Four Winds/Allegro), A Christmas Concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass (Four Winds/Allegro), A Renaissance Holiday with The London Symphony Orchestra (American Gramaphone), The Compleat Four Seasons (Vivaldi) with Patrick Stewart (American Gramaphone), The American Girls Revue (American Girls Productions), Circle of Friends (American Girls Productions), An American Girls Christmas with the London Symphony (American Girls Productions ), "A Song of Christmas" with the Pittsburgh Symphony Brass, Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Distant Worlds II: more music from FINAL FANTASY with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Distant Worlds III: more music from FINAL FANTASY, Distant Worlds IV: more music from FINAL FANTASY, Distant Worlds V: more music from FINAL FANTASY, A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY with the Navarra String Quartet and the New World Players, A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY – Volume II, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony, and Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony II.
For more information visit: www.awrmusic.com.

Anthony J. Maglione
director, Houston Symphony Chorus
Conductor, Composer, and Producer Anthony J. Maglione is Director of Choral Studies at the University of Houston and Director of the Houston Symphony Chorus. He joins the Moores School of Music faculty from William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, where he was the Director of Choral Studies and held the Robert H. McKee Chair of Music. Choirs under his direction have appeared at state, regional, and national conventions, released internationally-distributed commercial recordings, and have twice been named “Runner Up” for the American Prize in Choral Performance, College/University Division. A frequent collaborator, he has prepared choirs for performances with the American Spiritual Ensemble, Boston Camerata, The Canadian Brass, Joyce DiDonato, Kansas City Chamber Orchestra, Kansas City Civic Orchestra, The King’s Singers, Kings Return, and the Mark Morris Dance Group.
An often-performed and commissioned composer with a growing national reputation, Maglione’s music has appeared at state, regional, and national-level conventions, on TV, in video games, and has been recorded on Albany Records, Centaur Records, GIA Choral Works, and Gothic Records. Several of his choral works are published on James Jordan’s “Evoking Sound” choral series through GIA Publications as well as “The Amanda Quist Signature Choral Series” on Gentry Publications. In 2018, Maglione’s cantata for soloists, choir, and orchestra, The Wedding of Solomon, premiered at the American Guild of Organists National Convention. The Miami University Men’s Glee Club premiered Maglione’s On Life at the 2019 National ACDA Conference. In early 2020, Verdigris Ensemble premiered his extended dramatic work Dust Bowl as part of the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Elevator Project in Dallas, Texas. Dust Bowl was recently revised and performed again in 2024 at the Wyly Theatre in Dallas through funding in-part from the National Endowment of the Arts. From 2023 to 2025, Maglione served as Composer-In-Residence with Te Deum, a professional choir based in Kansas City.
As a producer, Maglione lends his ears to recording projects around the country and recently received national attention through his production work with Sam Brukhman and Verdigris Ensemble on Betty’s Notebook by composer Nicholas Reeves. This ground-breaking, programmable art music is the first of its kind and the first to be sold using blockchain technology.
As a tenor, Maglione has appeared with renowned organizations such as Artefact Ensemble, Cappella Romana, Kansas City Baroque Consortium, Kantorei KC, The Same Stream, The St. Tikhon Choir, Sunflower Baroque, and Spire Chamber Ensemble.
A sought-after clinician and frequent guest conductor, Maglione teaches workshops and has conducted All-State and honor choirs in California, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. He holds degrees from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, East Carolina University, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Houston Symphony Chorus
The Houston Symphony Chorus is the official choral unit of the Houston Symphony and consists of highly skilled and talented volunteer singers. Over the years, members of this historic ensemble have learned and performed the world’s great choral orchestral masterworks under the batons of Juraj Valčuha, Andrés Orozco Estrada, Hans Graf, Christoph Eschenbach, Robert Shaw, and Helmuth Rilling, among many others.
In addition, the Chorus enjoys participating in the Houston Symphony’s popular programming under the batons of conductors such as Steven Reineke and Michael Krajewski. Recently, the ensemble sang the closing subscription concerts with the Prague Symphony Orchestra in the Czech Republic. Singers are selected for specific programs for which they have indicated interest. A singer might choose to perform in all 45 concerts, as was the case in a recent season, or might elect to participate in a single series. The Houston Symphony Chorus holds auditions by appointment and welcomes inquiries from interested singers.

Amanda Achen
vocalist
A harmonious blend of tradition and innovation defines Amanda Achen’s musical journey. She is a versatile soprano renowned for her "crystalline quality" and emotive performances, gracing stages worldwide in concert halls, jazz clubs, and iconic venues such as Radio City Music Hall, Tokyo Dome, and the Hollywood Bowl.
Recognized for her stylistic diversity, Amanda has risen to prominence in the gaming community thanks to her collaborations with Masayoshi Soken on FINAL FANTASY XIV and FINAL FANTASY XVI. She has also been featured in Studio Ghibli Symphony Concerts with Joe Hisaishi and has worked with author Neil Gaiman on humorous PR events for the Amazon Prime TV show Good Omens. Her voice has resonated in blockbuster films like Frozen II, Mulan, and Birds of Prey.
As a Twitch partner, Amanda has connected with her audience in real-time through FINAL FANTASY XIV gameplay, chats, and live musical performances, showcasing her dynamic talents. She has also composed original music as both a solo artist and with her jazz ensemble, Citizen Kitten. For more information, please visit amandasingsthings.com.