Roll over Beethoven!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

No longer is classical music a genre appreciated by the more refined in society. The sell out performances of the Eminence Symphony Orchestra's 'A Night in Fantasia 2007: Symphonic Games edition' concert series proved that a new world of classical music has been created and fans range from teenagers to the elderly.

Determined to continue their mission to bring classical music to the masses, Eminence is now preparing for its 'Destiny Reunion' tour, which will visit Japan - for a concert which sold out in just 10 hours - and the USA before returning to Australia to wow Australian fans in late July.

"It is so rewarding to see that we helping to bring an appreciation of classical music to a wider demographic," said Hiro Yura, founder of Eminence and a violin virtuoso. "By playing the extraordinarily beautiful music that has been created for computer games and anime productions, we are showing people the versatility and accessibility of a genre that has not been truly appreciated before by the younger generation," he added.

Mr Yura went on say, "Hitoshi Sakimoto and Yasunori Mitsuda have specifically orchestrated all the pieces that will be played for the Destiny Reunion concert tour to suit a quintet. So the audience will hear games and anime titles played, not only in a classical sense by real instruments, but will also be treated to arrangements that have never before been heard."

The Destiny Reunion quintet will feature Eminence's world class performers - Hiroaki Yura and Kenny Kao on violin, Andrew Marciniak on viola, Minah Choe on cello and Kumiko Ito on piano.

Destiny Reunion will feature the musical scores from My Neighbour Totoro, Chrono Cross, Noir, Gundam Seed, Princess Mononoke, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, The Place Promised in Our Early Days, Xenosaga, .hack/Liminality, Romeo x Juliet and many, many more.

Hitoshi Sakimoto, who was recently in Australia for the 'A Night in Fantasia 2007: Symphonic Games Edition' concert series, will accompany the Destiny Reunion quintet for the Otakon 2007 performance - the first time Eminence has performed in the United States of America. Hitoshi Sakimoto is best known for his music from Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy Tactics and the new anime Romeo x Juliet. Mr Sakimoto will be at Eminence's concert to hear his music performed and to meet and greet the fans at Otakon.

The pieces played at Destiny Reunion will not be featured in the same orchestration at any other Eminence performance and tickets are limited for this tour - so fans of Eminence's previous 'Destiny' performances should make sure they don't miss out!

-ends-

Sydney, Australia Melbourne, Australia

Dates: Saturday 28 July Date: Friday 11 August

Time: 6.00pm Time: 7.00pm

Venue: Sydney Conservatorium Venue: BMW Edge, Federation Square

Bookings: via Books Kinokuniya or Bookings: via www.eminenceonline.com

www.eminenceonline.com

Yokohama, Japan Baltimore, USA

Date: Monday 16 July Date: Sunday 22 July

Time: 6.30pm Time: 1.00pm

Venue: Himawari no Sato Otakon, Baltimore Convention Centre

For more information, see www.otakon.com.au

For media information, please contact:

Kerryn Nelson

Big Mouth Marketing Communications

p: 03 9558 3122

m: + 61 (0) 417 035 536

e: kerryn.nelson@bigmouth.net.au

About Eminence Symphony Orchestra

Eminence Symphony Orchestra was established in 2003 by renowned violin virtuoso, Hiroaki Yura. Since then, Eminence has become known for their annual 'A Night in Fantasia' events, in addition to other concerts and recordings for games, anime and films.

Eminence Symphony Orchestra comprises 60 elite musicians under the conductorship of Philip Chu. Eminence's team of musicians have had experience with a large number of established Symphony Orchestras, such as the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Queensland Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra and Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

Many Eminence musicians have also performed as international soloists with major orchestras around the world, including the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, all major Chinese Eastern Coast Orchestras, all major Australian Orchestras and major USA Orchestras.

Eminence aims to revitalise the current state of Australian orchestras and achieve a following across all demographics, encouraging a wider appreciation of symphonic music in Australia. Eminence is the most experienced orchestra in the world dedicated to gaming and anime music.

What sets the Eminence Symphony Orchestra apart from others?

Classical music should not be left to languish in dusty corners or to be appreciated only by an older demographic. It needs to find a new face and be aggressively showcased into expanded genres in order to capture a larger audience.

Eminence wants to challenge the 'image' of orchestral music, by aligning it with the things that are more familiar to younger audiences, such as computer games. Eminence's musicians want young people to really 'hear' orchestral music, to believe in the strength of music and connect with it.

This is the Silverchair of Classical!