The Return of Play! A Video Game Symphony
WHEN: Thursday, March 31 at 8 p.m.
WHERE: Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, Main and Second streets, Dayton, OH 45402
COST: $20 to $80
MORE INFO: (937) 228-3630 or http://www.ticketcenterstage.com/
DAYTON — The word is out about video game music.
So it’s no wonder the game world has invaded the concert hall. Video gaming is huge.
U.S. sales in December 2010 alone were $5.4 billion. Total receipts topped $21 billion in 2008 and have averaged $20 billion the past two years.
When the besieged $70 million Broadway musical “Spider-Man" needed to hire a new choreographer last week, it turned to Chase Brock, whose most recent involvement was not in another live stage show. It was with the Nintendo video game “Dance on Broadway.”
And when the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra first presented “Play! A Video Game Symphony” two years ago, attracting audience members from other states to a concert of music composed for some of the most popular games ever it was ahead of the orchestra curve.
The DPO is riding the curve again, bringing back the same concert, with a few significant tweaks, on March 31.
Although the Schuster Center will be transformed for a couple of hours into the lair of the Darkspawn, the Covenant, Sonic the Hedgehog, Wander, Link and other forces of good, evil and in between, the only scores that matter will be musical ones.
New touches will include the first live performance in the U.S. of a song by Inon Zur from the video game “Dragon Age: Origins.” Earlier this month, “Dragon Age II” was released for PC Xbox 360 and PlayStation 38.
Two other pieces will debut: an arrangement from the much loved “Castlevania” franchise and a new take on an old classic, to be announced at the concert and presented as the encore.
The “Castlevania” selection was created for “Play!” by composer and orchestrator Chad Seiter (“Fracture (VG),” “Fringe,” “Lost” and “Star Trek”). It incorporates fresh interpretations of “Moonlight Nocturne” from “Symphony of the Night,” “Iron Blue Intention” (“Bloodlines”) and “Bloody Tears” (“Simon’s Quest”). It spans the series from the original Castlevania title through “Lords of Shadow.”
Three area high school choirs chosen through audition will perform along with the full orchestra.
Graphics and full-motion videos from the games will be projected on large screens.
Andy Brick, a major figure in game music composition, orchestration and performance, will conduct the DPO.
Although the target audience skews younger than for the typical classical concert, Cody Camden, 17, a junior at Stebbins High School, doesn’t view the event as a gimmick to attract new listeners.
“This is good, valid music that people can enjoy listening to,” he said.
The Stebbins chorus is one of three that were chosen months ago to be part of the show. The others are from Kings and Oakwood high schools.
“I’ve played most of the games represented on this program. My personal favorite among those is the ‘Halo’ medley. It’s a lot of fun to sing. I can visualize the scene from the game as we’re singing it. I know just what the characters are doing,” Camden said.
Kings singer Meghan Margheim, 16, a junior who “grew up with these games,” said the “Halo” selection also is her favorite. “To hear it and sing it as part of the whole group is going to be an experience. We usually focus more on blending and harmonizing. This is so different. I’m looking forward to the challenge of that.”
Stebbins choir director Christina Smith said the students “love this music, which is evocative of epic battles and intense emotion. It’s a great teaching opportunity.”
The composers have written “beautiful melodies,” she added. “The hardest part for the singers is not singing in English or even in real Latin. Most of the choral pieces are sung on neutral syllables — loo, oh, ahh — or in a language that simulates Latin, or even Japanese. The rhythms are much more symphonic than choral in nature.”
Camden puts it this way: “We generally sing a lot more words.”
Matthew Broyles, 18, a Kings senior and dedicated gamer whose top pick on this program is “One-Wing Angel,” said his school’s choir has sung previously at the Schuster in Handel’s “Messiah.”
“This is definitely different. It’s easier, yet it isn’t. We don’t sing words, but we need to sing our vowels. We also need to focus on the volume, the intensity and how long that’s held. In video games, music sets the mood or builds up an event. It’s like telling stories around a campfire, only you can feel it coming at you and it’s interactive.”
Kings choral director Hope Milthaler had her choir listen to a recording first, then rehearse in sectionals or as an ensemble. “The singers absolutely love this unique opportunity. Performing it with the Dayton Phil on the Schuster stage is something they won’t forget.”
Response at the Schuster was so positive the first time, DPO officials said they felt they “had no choice but to bring it back again.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2377 or tmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com
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