First, we heard about symphony orchestras performing concerts based on the music of popular video games… now these themes are making their way into music classrooms across the country.
Traditionalists may cringe at the thought of video game music… but many of the scores are well done. Of course, it took a while for music educators to embrace jazz ad now it is a big part of music education. With the proliferation of technology and tools to create and perform music – maybe studying and performing these new arrangements will inspire a new generation of music maker.
Award-Winning Video Game Music Now Available for Concert Band, Marching Band and Orchestra
Alfred, the leader in educational music publishing, and Video Games Live, the first major U.S. video game concert tour, have teamed up to bring the music from award-winning video games to music education programs all over the world. Now band and orchestra educators will be able to purchase concert band, marching band, and orchestra arrangements of the soundtracks to top video games, some of which are also performed by live orchestras during the Video Game Live concert tour.
"Alfred is always looking for new ways to inspire kids to experience the joy of making music, and the music coming out of the video game industry is amazing," said Andrew Surmani, Vice President of Marketing and Managing Director, School & Church Publishing. "We look for music that is not only beautifully written, but will appeal to students and music educators alike."
Alfred teamed up with the creators of Video Game Live, famed composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, to secure licensing agreements from major game publishers. %u201CThis is a great step forward in our goal to bring the popular music from games to our young fans. Video Games Live is a concert experience for the entire family and for video game fans everywhere. We want to give kids the opportunity to play their favorite music from our show for their friends and family," said Wall.
The 2006 Video Games Live concert season debuts at the Civic Auditorium in San Jose on Friday, March 24th as the closing event of the Game Developer's Conference where all the top game designers and composers will be in attendance.
Full Story Planet GameCube News Article: Game Arrangements Available for Band & Orchestra