Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the Final Fantasy video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton John as one of his biggest influences.
Sir Simon Denis Rattle is a British conductor with German citizenship. He rose to international prominence during the 1980s and 1990s, while music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1980–1998). Rattle was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic from 2002 to 2018, and music director of the London Symphony Orchestra from 2017 to 2023. He has been chief conductor of Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra since September 2023. Among the world's leading conductors, in a 2015 Bachtrack poll, he was ranked by music critics as one of the world's best living conductors.
The Berlin Philharmonic is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand classical crossover singer. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide, making it one of the fastest selling albums in her country's history.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel to form the core of the creative team. The band gained in popularity when they began touring in 1999 after completing their second album, The Christmas Attic, the year previous. In 2007, The Washington Post referred to them as "an arena-rock juggernaut" and described their music as "Pink Floyd meets Yes and the Who at Radio City Music Hall." TSO has sold more than 10 million concert tickets and over 10 million albums. The band has released a series of rock operas: Christmas Eve and Other Stories, The Christmas Attic, Beethoven's Last Night, The Lost Christmas Eve, their two-disc Night Castle and Letters From the Labyrinth. Trans-Siberian Orchestra is also known for their extensive charity work and elaborate concerts, which include a string section, a light show, lasers, moving trusses, video screens, and effects synchronized to music.
The Decemberists are an American indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, formed in 2000. The band consists of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query (bass), and John Moen (drums).
Bojangles Coliseum, originally Charlotte Coliseum and formerly Independence Arena and Cricket Arena, is an 8,600-seat multi-purpose arena located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is operated by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, which also oversees nearby Ovens Auditorium and the uptown Charlotte Convention Center. The naming-rights sponsor is the Bojangles restaurant chain. The building's signature domed roof is made of tin, rather than steel or iron. The dome spans 332 feet in diameter and rises to 112 feet tall.
The William D. Mullins Memorial Center, also known as the Mullins Center, is a 9,493-seat multi-purpose arena, located on the campus of the University of Massachusetts, in Amherst, Massachusetts. The Mullins Center is the home of UMass Minutemen men's basketball, women's basketball, and men's ice hockey. In addition, the venue hosts numerous concerts, family shows, theater shows, and commencements annually. Located adjacent to the Mullins Center is the Mullins Community Ice Rink, which is open for public skating and racquetball, while also serving as the home rink for the UMass women's ice hockey team.
David Eric Robertson is an American conductor. He was chief conductor of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and was formerly music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra from 2005 until 2018. He is Director of Orchestral Studies at Juilliard.
Arena Monterrey is an indoor arena in Monterrey, Mexico. It is primarily used for shows, concerts and indoor sports like indoor soccer, arena football and basketball. It used to be the home arena of the Monterrey Fury indoor soccer team and the Fuerza Regia, a professional basketball team in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional; the Monterrey La Raza, a team in the NISL; and the Monterrey Steel, an indoor American football team in the National Arena League.
Perth Superdrome, known as HBF Stadium under a commercial naming rights arrangement, is a sports complex in Perth, Western Australia. The venue is located in the suburb of Mount Claremont, approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of Perth's central business district.
Hordern Pavilion is a building located in Moore Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on the grounds of the old Sydney Showground. Now known as a sports venue, dance party and music concert venue, the Hordern Pavilion was originally constructed for the Royal Agricultural Society of New South Wales to meet the increasing demands for exhibition space at the Royal Easter Show. Hordern's undeniable importance was a rather unique use WWII as a bulk store for the Army.
Lloyd V. Berkner High School is a high school in Richardson, in the U.S. state of Texas, with a 2008 enrollment of 2,755 and a student/teacher ratio of 16.7. It is one of four high schools in the Richardson Independent School District.
Sir Mark Philip Elder is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England.
Boys Like Girls is an American rock band formed in Andover, Massachusetts, in 2005. The group gained mainstream recognition with their self-titled debut album (2006), which went on to sell over 700,000 albums in the US, earning a gold certification from the RIAA. The band's second studio album Love Drunk, was released in 2009 and their third studio album Crazy World, was released in 2012.
Mesa Amphitheatre is an outdoor concert venue with lawn seating located in Mesa, Arizona. It opened in 1979 and has a maximum capacity of 4,950 people.
Andris Nelsons is a Latvian conductor. He is currently music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He was previously music director of the Latvian National Opera, chief conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, and music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Edward Gardner is an English conductor. While still studying at the Royal Academy of Music in the late 1990s, he began his professional career as a choral conductor and repetiteur. Among other early posts, he was music director of Glyndebourne on Tour from 2004 to 2007. Gardner was music director of English National Opera from 2007 to 2015. From 2010 to 2016, he was principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and since 2013, he has been principal guest conductor of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 2021, he has been principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2022, he also became artistic advisor of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, where he is scheduled to become the music director in 2024.
Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheater is the first amphitheater concert facility, in Tucson, Arizona, with a capacity of about 4,500-5,000. It officially opened on October 14, 2001, as part of the new Casino Del Sol, located on the Arizona Pascua Yaqui Tribe. It is named after Anselmo Valencia Tori, a World War II veteran and former chairman of the Pascua Yaqui Association.
Hillsboro Symphony Orchestra (HSO) is an amateur orchestra based in Hillsboro in the Portland metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Oregon. Founded in 2001, the non-profit group has 86 musicians and is led by conductor Jeff Hornick. They perform three concerts per year at Hillsboro's Hidden Creek Community Center. Additionally, the orchestra also has five ensembles that perform at other events in the area.
