With "Baba Yetu" getting gaming's first Grammy nod, video game music has once again taken some of the limelight off of more popular artists (some deserving of praise, others not), and shown the world that gaming music is not just a fad, it's a growing genre of its own, just as gaming is becoming an art form of its own. One such example comes in the form of the University of Maryland's Gamer Symphony Orchestra.
The student-run Gamer Symphony Orchestra is the first collegiate ensemble exclusively devoted to performing orchestral arrangements of video game music and using that music as an educational tool. They now boast a roster of more than 100 musicians, including 30 singers, and have played to packed houses two years in a row at the university?s largest performing arts venue, the 1,100-seat Dekelboum Concert Hall!
Their next performance will be the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, once again in the Dekelboum Concert Hall where they plan to play music from games such as Final Fantasy VI, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Galaxy, and many other games!
Why do I bring this up? Well, as one might have guessed, I am not just a fan of the GSO, I am also a member.
Before people start flaming me, I would just like to say that I am posting this not as an advertisement, but as a topic that I believe people on this forum will find genuinely interesting. We have recordings from all our concerts available for download on our website [umd.gamersymphony.org], and we also have an amazing YouTube channel, umgsoVids [http://www.youtube.com/user/umgsoVids].
We love getting feedback, suggestions for possible pieces to perform in the future, and if you have a few extra dollars lying around, we accept donations too(believe me, rehearsal and performance space at Maryland isn't cheap)!
If you are in the area, consider attending our concert, its free! If not, check our website a few weeks from now to hear what you missed!
The student-run Gamer Symphony Orchestra is the first collegiate ensemble exclusively devoted to performing orchestral arrangements of video game music and using that music as an educational tool. They now boast a roster of more than 100 musicians, including 30 singers, and have played to packed houses two years in a row at the university?s largest performing arts venue, the 1,100-seat Dekelboum Concert Hall!
Their next performance will be the afternoon of Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010, once again in the Dekelboum Concert Hall where they plan to play music from games such as Final Fantasy VI, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario Galaxy, and many other games!
Why do I bring this up? Well, as one might have guessed, I am not just a fan of the GSO, I am also a member.
Before people start flaming me, I would just like to say that I am posting this not as an advertisement, but as a topic that I believe people on this forum will find genuinely interesting. We have recordings from all our concerts available for download on our website [umd.gamersymphony.org], and we also have an amazing YouTube channel, umgsoVids [http://www.youtube.com/user/umgsoVids].
We love getting feedback, suggestions for possible pieces to perform in the future, and if you have a few extra dollars lying around, we accept donations too(believe me, rehearsal and performance space at Maryland isn't cheap)!
If you are in the area, consider attending our concert, its free! If not, check our website a few weeks from now to hear what you missed!
