Zelda symphony conductor on the Zelda series

The Symphony of the Goddesses series of concerts has been met with overwhelming praise and affection, so much so that new dates have recently been announced in accordance with the second round of concerts known as the Second Quest. The conductor of the concerts, Eimear Noone recently sat down with the UK Official Nintendo Magazine (ONM) to discuss the performance at E3 2011 and the appeal of the series as a whole.

Hit the jump to find out more.

ONM’s Chris Rooke sat down with conductor Eimear Noone just an hour and a half before the Symphony of the Goddesses concert in London. When asked about the uniqueness of the series and how Zelda has built up such a massive global fan following, Noone had this to say:

“I think it’s so sweet: the story, the characters… It’s a really positive thing, it’s a different kind of mindset to the shoot-em-up games.”

Noone also commented on the mythology of the Zelda series, drawing upon her own Irish roots to expand on why the origins of Hyrule are so endearing and how fans can so easily relate to the construct.

“The whole thing of Hyrule taps into some of our most ancient mythologies – including Celtic mythology, it’s all over it: the three goddesses setting up the country and the land, and we have the symbolism of the number three, and the good versus evil – it’s the classic things that move us in stories. Plus, the story touches people.”

Noone then goes on to talk about the orchestral performance at E3 2011, which served as a sort of warm-up to the series of 25th Anniversary Concerts in Tokyo, Los Angeles and London. She reminisces of the audience’s reaction to the presentation and also to Miyamoto’s attitude during rehearsals:

“We were on a hydraulic stage, which came up from the basement, and the audience didn’t know we were going to be there – it was top secret – but we actually were underground [and] when we came up, the roar from the audience was overwhelming, it was unbelievable.

We did this little back and forth with Miyamoto-san, but I remember the rehearsal being very chaotic as there’s a lot of technology involved, but the most zen, most beautifully mannered lovely person in the room was Miyamoto, he was just fantastic.”

You can find the original interview on ONM’s website here.

I think it’s fascinating to get insight from the woman who played a huge part in making the Symphony of the Goddesses concerts such a success. It’s interesting to hear how her Irish roots play a large role in her own personal love for the series, a link which was strengthened in the concert itself when Noone produced a replica Wind Waker to conduct the Wind Waker symphony; something which was met with raucous cheers and applause from the audience. But what do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.