Details:

Developer: The Pokémon Company International and Princeton Entertainment
Countries: USA, Mexico, Canada, Australia, South America
Music: Original Music: Junichi Masuda
Concert Run: August 15th, 2014 to 2017
Table of Contents: Main Page - About the Symphony - Staff - Tour Locations - Set List - Story/Information - Features

About the Musical

On June 30th, 2014, The Pokémon Company International and Princeton Entertainment announced in a press release that the official Pokémon live orchestral concert series, Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions, would premiere at the famed Warner Theater in Washington, DC on Friday, August 15, 2014, the same weekend that The 2014 Pokémon World Championships would be held.

Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions took audiences of all ages on a powerful musical retrospective through the popular video game franchise’s most memorable melodies. The concert tour reunited the key creative producers from the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda™: Symphony of the Goddesses concert tour. The concert tour gave loyal Pokémon fans and newcomers a chance to experience the evolution of the franchise through all-new orchestral arrangements and carefully timed visuals drawing from classic and recent Pokémon video games including:

• Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, Pokémon Yellow
• Pokémon Gold and Pokémon Silver, Pokémon Crystal
• Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire, Pokémon Emerald
• Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, Pokémon Platinum
• Pokémon Black and Pokémon White
• Pokémon X and Pokémon Y

J.C. Smith, director of Consumer Marketing at The Pokémon Company International was quoted in the press release and stated: “Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions is going to be a spectacular showcase of the memorable music that has been a hallmark of the Pokémon franchise for nearly 20 years. The concert series serves as a thank-you to fans and an invitation to share our passion for Pokémon by reliving some of our fondest memories. We’re looking forward to seeing fans of all ages meeting up and enjoying this very special Pokémon orchestral event together.”

Staff

Arranger: Chad Seiter
Composer: Junichi Masuda
Conductor (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh): Susie Benchasil Seiter
Video Editor: Brian Costa
Percussive and Electronic Accompaniment: Andrew Aversa
Producer: Jeron Moore

Review/Information

Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions at the Mann Center for Performing Arts - By: Brian Dougherty - On Friday, September 19, 2014, I had the magnificent pleasure of revisiting my childhood by attending an orchestral performance of the last sixteen years of musical pieces featured in the extremely popular Pokémon franchise, originally composed by Junichi Masuda. The concert’s music was masterfully performed by the Mann Festival Orchestra at the Mann Center for Performing Arts. During my time at the concert, I thoroughly enjoyed each and every piece of music including the very special encore, which mandated audience participation.

Junichi Masuda, the classically-inspired composer of the original in-game music for the Pokémon franchise that spanned several generations of handheld videogame devices from Nintendo, was very proud of the concert’s attendance of over 5,400 people. Creative Producer for Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions, Jeron Moore, entered the stage in between the second half of the set and the encore and told us all this personally, in addition to humorously reminding people who seemed to be exiting that concerts have encores: “You guys that are leaving…. You don’t know how this works!” *cheer*.

Not only did each and every note from each and every instrument move me emotionally, but they also brought me to nostalgic tears. At the beginning and end of every piece, the crowd erupted as if it were the last. It was not quite the type of applause you’d normally expect at an orchestral performance. It didn’t need to be. The guest vocalist for the symphonic cover of the original U.S. television dub theme song joyfully alluded to the loudness of the crowd.

As for the audience, it consisted of people from all walks of life. According to “StreetPass” on a friend’s Nintendo 3DS system, (the audience was encouraged to battle other audience members during the show) people as far out as Japan and Nunavut Territory in Canada attended. There were children present, but also grown up fans that have been around since the franchise hit United States soil.

If Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions were to come around again, I would instantly clear my schedule to attend. I would bring more people with me than I brought this time, and I would also try to get seats closer to the orchestra. Interestingly, I actually sat in seats despite paying for the lawn, due to vacancies in the upper levels of the Mann Center. On our journey to the venue, I had no idea I’d be sitting in the first row of what I believe is called the Connelly Terrace. For that I was grateful.

Tour Locations

Date	City	Venue	Performers
August 15th, 2014	Washington, DC	Warner Theater
August 16th, 2014	Washington, DC	Warner Theater
September 19th, 2014	Philadelphia, PA	The Mann Center for the Performing Arts	Mann Festival Orchestra
January 17th, 2015	Pittsburgh, PA	Heinz Hall	Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
May 1st, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. Cancelled and Rescheduled to July 1st, 2015	Baltimore, MD	Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall	Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
May 29th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Raleigh, NC	Meymandi Concert Hall	North Carolina Symphony
June 6th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	New York, NY	Theater at Madison Square Garden	Orchestra at St. Luke’s
June 12th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Cincinnati, OH	Riverbend Music Center	American Festival Orchestra
June 13th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. Cancelled and Rescheduled	Cleveland, OH	Blossom Music Center	Erroneously announced as Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
June 14th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Buffalo, NY	Shea's Performing Arts Center	American Festival Orchestra
June 19th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Milwaukee, WI	Riverside Theater
June 20th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Chicago, IL	Chicago Theatre	Chicago Philharmonic
July 1st, 2015 at 7:30pm (May 1st, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.)	Baltimore, MD	Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall	Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
July 9th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	San Diego, CA	Copley Symphony Hall - Embarcadero Marina Park South	San Diego Symphony
July 11th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Los Angeles, CA	Greek Theater
July 12th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	San Jose, CA	City National Civic
July 18th, 2015 at 8:30 p.m.	Vienna, VA	Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts	National Symphony Orchestra
July 22nd, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Vancouver, BC	The Orpheum	Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
July 25th, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.	Houston, TX	Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts	Houston Symphony
July 26th, 2015 at 2:30 p.m	Houston, TX	Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts	Houston Symphony
August 20th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Holmdel, NJ	PNC Bank Arts Center
August 22nd, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Boston, MA	Blue Hills Bank Pavilion
August 28th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Toronto, ON	Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
August 30th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Montreal, QB	Place Des Arts
September 11th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Detroit, MI	Fox Theatre
September 12th, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.	Indianapolis, IN	Murat Theatre at Old National Centre
September 15th, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.	Seattle, WA	Benaroya Hall	Seattle Symphony
September 17th, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.	Portland, OR	Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
October 9th, 2015 at 9:00 p.m.	Nashville, TN	Schermerhorn Symphony Center
October 21st, 2015 at 9:00 p.m.	Guadalajara, Mexico	Auditorio Telmex
October 23rd, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Mexico City, Mexico	Auditorio Nacional
October 25th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Monterrey, Mexico	Monterrey Arena
November 13th, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.	Melbourne, Australia	Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
November 15th, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. Cancelled	Perth, Australia	Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre	-
November 17th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Adelaide, Australia	Adelaide Festival Theatre
November 20th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Sydney, NSW, Australia	Sydney Opera House	Sydney Symphony Orchestra
November 21st, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.	Sydney, NSW, Australia	Sydney Opera House	Sydney Symphony Orchestra
November 21st, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Sydney, NSW, Australia	Sydney Opera House	Sydney Symphony Orchestra
December 3rd, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.	Clearwater, FL	Ruth Eckerd Hall
December 4th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	Orlando, FL	Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts	Orlando Philharmonic
December 20th, 2015 at 8:00 p.m.	London, England, U.K.	Eventim Apollo	Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra
January 2nd, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.	Fort Worth, TX	Bass Performance Hall	Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
January 24th, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.	Pittsburgh, PA	Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts	Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
February 5th, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.	Grand Rapids, MI	DeVos Performance Hall	Grand Rapids Symphony
Saturday, May 14th, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.	St. Louis, MI	Powell Hall	STL Symphony
Saturday, May 15th, 2016 at 2:00 p.m.	St. Louis, MI	Powell Hall	STL Symphony
Tuesday, June 14th, 2016 at 8:00 p.m.	Los Angeles, CA	Microsoft Theater
July 10th, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.	Philadelphia, PA	The Mann	The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Friday August 12th, 2016 at 7:00PM	Santiago, Chile	Teatro Coliseo	la Sinfónica Agv Custom Orchestra de Chile
Friday, September 30th, 2016 at 8:00PM	Milwaukee, WI	The Riverside Theater	The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, October 7th, 2016 at 8:00PM Cancelled	Paris, France	Grand Rex	Sinfonia Pop Orchestra
Saturday, October 8th, 2016 at 8:00PM Cancelled	Paris, France	Grand Rex	Sinfonia Pop Orchestra
Sunday, October 9th, 2016 at 2:00PM Cancelled	Paris, France	Grand Rex	Sinfonia Pop Orchestra
Saturday, October 29th, 2016 at 7:00pm	Dallas, TX	Music Hall at Fair Park	Dallas POPS
Monday, October 31st, 2016 at 9:00pm	Mexico City, Mexico	Pepsi Center WTC
Tuesday, November 1st, 2016 at 8:30pm	Mexico City, Mexico	Pepsi Center WTC
Saturday, November 19th, 2016 at 7:30PM	Atlanta, GA	Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Saturday, December 3rd, 2016 at 8:00PM	Miami, FL	Adrienne Arsht Center - Knight Concert Hall
Monday, December 19th, 2016 at 7:30 PM	London, UK	Eventim Apollo
Monday, December 20th, 2016 at 7:30 PM	London, UK	Eventim Apollo
Saturday, January 7th, 2017 at 7:30PM	Austin, TX	The Long Center - Dell Hall
Saturday, February 4, 2017 at 7:30PM	North Bethesda, Maryland	The Music Center	National Philharmonic
February, 26th, 2017 at 2:00pm	Mexico City, Mexico	Pepsi Center WTC
March 4th, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.	Salt Lake City, UT	Abravanel Hall	Utah Symphony
March 9th, 2017 at 7:30 p.m.	Denver, CO	Boettcher Concert Hall - Denver Performing Arts Complex	Colorado Symphony
Friday, March 31st, 2017 at 7:10 p.m.	Abu Dhabi, UAE	Abu Dhabi Corniche - Main Stage
Thursday, April 27th, 2017 at 8:00PM	Jacksonville, FL	Florida Theatre
Saturday, April 29th, 2017 at 7:00PM	West Palm Beach, FL	Kravis Center for the Performing Arts
Sunday, April 30th, 2017 at 2:00PM	Orlando, FL	Walt Disney Theater	Orlando Philharmonic
Saturday, May 6th, 2017 at 7:30PM	Toronto, Canada	Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
Friday, July 7th, 2017 at 7PM	Vancouver, Canada	Orpheum Theatre	Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, July 8th, 2017 at 7:30PM	Nashville, TN	Ascend Amphitheater
October 8th, 2017 at 7:00 PM	Richmond, VA	Altria Theater
November 25th, 2017 at 7:30PM	Salem, OR	Elsinore Theatre	Salem Symphony Orchestra
November 26th, 2017 at 2:00PM	Salem, OR	Elsinore Theatre	Salem Symphony Orchestra
Saturday December 2nd, 2017 at 7:30PM	Wilkes-Barre, PA, USA	F.M. Kirby Center
Sunday December 3rd, 2017 at 7:00PM	Reading, PA, USA	The Santander Performing Arts Center
Saturday, January 6th, 2018 at 8:00PM	Grand Rapids, MI	DeVos Performance Hall

Set List

The following set list is from the Philadelphia performance and all track titles are taken from the video that was displayed on the concert screens.

Track Title
Opening (R/B/Y Intro no official title)
Pallet Town (R/B/Y)
Prepare for Trouble (R/B/Y)
Born to Be a Champion (R/B/Y)
Ecruteak City (G/S/C)
Songs of the Towers (G/S/C)
... (G/S/C)
Ancients of Hoenn (R/S/E)
Falling Ashes (R/S/E)
End of the Road (R/S/E)
Dreams and Adventures (D/P/Pt)
Routes of Sinnoh (D/P/Pt)
The Lake Guardians (D/P/Pt)
Intermission
Pokémon Center (no official title)
The Day I Became King (B/W)
N-Counter (B/W)
Farewell (B/W)
An Eternal Prison (X/Y)
Welcome to Kalos (X/Y)
Professor Sycamore (X/Y)
Friends, Fights, & Finales (X/Y)
Encore + Announcement
Gotta Catch 'Em All (vocal cover)
Kiseki (X/Y vocal)

Features

• Rearranged orchestral music based of the video game music composed by Junichi Masuda
• Video performance sync'd to the live performance to enhance the overall presentation
• Media bay for people to take pictures and video of the performance

Baltimore 2015 Rescheduling

A notice was added to the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra website to inform ticket holders that the concert was rescheduled due to the 2015 Baltimore riots which had a Mandatory curfew in effective from April 28th, 2015 until May 5th, 2015 from 10pm to 5am.

"We regret to inform you that given the mandatory curfew and current safety concerns in Baltimore City we are postponing our performance of Pokemon: Symphonic Evolutions scheduled for Friday, May 1st at 8pm. This performance will now take place on Wednesday, July 1st at 7:30pm. All tickets for the May 1st performance will be honored on the rescheduled date. If you have questions regarding this postponement or cannot attend on the rescheduled date, please contact the BSO Ticket Office by phone at 410-783-8000 or by e-mail at bsomusic.org/contactus." (Quote Source)

Cleveland 2015 Rescheduling

The Blossom Music Center posted on Facebook on June 3rd, 2015 that the concert had been canceled and that a new date and venue would be announced at a later time. The official Blossom Music Center also erroneously announced the performers as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

"Pokemon fans! Get ready as Pokemon Symphonic Evolutions is coming to Blossom Music Center on Saturday 13th June 2015! The classic games that you all remember will be brought to life by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as they perform live in perfect synchronization with the video footage. Don't miss this unbelievable opportunity to meet-up with friends catch, battle, and trade Pokémon from your favorite games in a way you've never seen before!" (Quote Source)

"The Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions show originally scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 13 has been cancelled. A new date and venue will be announced at a later date. Refunds can be obtained at the point of purchase." (Quote Source)

Paris France October 2016 Cancellations

In April 2016, Overlook Events announced the arrival of the Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions concerts in France and were scheduled to take place on October 7th and 8th at 8:00PM. Unfortunately the Le Grand Rex Paris announced on their website and on Facebook that the performances had been canceled but did not give any other official details. Overlook then said the events were canceled due to "material difficulties" and that tickets would be fully refunded. A Sunday, October 9th, 2016 at 2:00PM performance was also initially revealed.

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