Zelda Reorchestrated had become a well-known name in the Legend of Zelda fan community by the late 2000’s, most notably through their ongoing project to reorchestrate The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. In 2007, the team was approached by Jeron Moore, a producer whose credentials included work with Elder Scrolls composer Jeremy Soule. Moore proposed a new project: an album of original arrangements from the recently released Twilight Princess – the best-selling Zelda title in history at the time.

Moore began collaborating primarily with new ZREO member Wayne Strange who served as the lead arranger and co-producer on the project. As work commenced, the ZREO team first teased the album in 2008, and further throughout 2009 as “Project Maranello”. Following the completion of the Ocarina of Time Reorchestrated, the team was able to turn their full attention to work on this new project.

Initially conceived as a 10-track album, Twilight Symphony quickly grew in scope. Moore and the team aimed to create works beyond simple reorchestrations, envisioning arrangements that covered notable melodies from the soundtrack, and evoked the story of the game as a singular listening experience. By the time the project was officially unveiled, it had already grown to encompass over 50 original arrangements.

In June 2010, ZREO formally announced Twilight Symphony in a special announcement timed to line up with that year’s E3 conference. The first two excerpt tracks were released in January 2011. In February, ZREO announced a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to record a full-sized live choir for the album. The campaign was a smashing success, exceeding the $18,000 goal to raise more than $31,000 (including donations from the ZREO website).