Produced by video game super fan Orvar Saftrom and played by The Philharmonia Orchestra and Swedish soprano Sabina Zweiacker, the SCORE concert will journey through gaming history, awakening well-loved music from classics such as Super Mario, Sonic The Hedgehog and Commodore 64 right through to Killzone, Final Fantasy and Skyrim.
With the arrival of next generation gaming and Grand Theft Auto V last year becoming the fastest-selling entertainment product in history, there is no doubt that the gaming industry is rising to new-found heights. Producing releases that continually push the boundaries of our expectations, developers are creating games to rival hollywood blockbusters and while games may look different to how they did in the 80s, the music still plays a major part in the gaming experience.
SCORE celebrates the music of some of the most well known video games ever made and over the years has become one of the leading game music productions in the world. Orchestival will be the first ever SCORE concert in the UK and will be a rare opportunity to hear music normally confined to the console played live by The Philharmonia Orchestra, a full symphony orchestra responsible for recording Hollywood blockbuster music for films such as Thor 2, Iron Man 3 and Elysium.
For the concert the retro 8-bit sounds of Commodore 64 and the 16-bit music of Sonic The Hedgehog have been reworked and given a new lease of life thanks to the extraordinary talents of the SCORE team. Nintendo fans will also be treated to two large suites featuring themes from the Super Mario and The Legend Of Zelda series, while Final Fantasy lovers will hear well loved music by celebrated composer Nobuo Uematsu. Incredible compositions from more recent titleswill be fully realised such as the fiery pirate music of Assassin's Creed IV – Black Flag, the eerie jazz and blues of 1940s America in L.A. Noire and the haunting vocal piece "The Dragonborn Comes" from hit game Skyrim.
Joris de Man, the Dutch soundtrack composer of the critically acclaimed Killzone, will be giving an inspiring talk on the importance of sound design in video games in the Talk tent just before the SCORE concert and performance of his music. Joris de Man is widely respected in the classical and gaming worlds and in 2010 won the first ever Ivor Novello Award for a video game soundtrack, for his work on Killzone 2.
Speaking about the SCORE concert Joris said:
"There’s no doubt that games music is now a big part of the classical stage. ClassicFM is regularly playing soundtracks from the gaming arena, and at last Orchestival is bringing the sounds of the console to Britain’s festival scene. What’s really exciting is that game-music concert audiences are not just gamers and geeks. Many have been captivated by games and want to hear the music outside of the gaming experience, others have never played a game in their life but love the music being created."
The Ivor Novello winner is also very excited to hear his own music played live:
"There’s something very special about hearing my compositions on a stage with live performers, especially if it’s been re-orchestrated as my work often needs to be. I hear things that I don’t always hear in-game or in the recordings."
SCORE is another feature of Orchestival's ground breaking programme that will expand and evolve all expectations of classical music. The Philharmonia Orchestra set the standard as the festival's resident orchestra for the weekend, which will see performances and collaborations by Squarepusher, The Unthanks, British Paraorchestra, Goldfrapp producer and keyboardist Will Gregory and many more.
Orchestival was founded by Charles Hazlewood, one of the most prominent figures in the classical world. A true pioneer, Charles has made it his goal to bring the genre to a wider audience and Orchestival will take him one step closer.
SCORE PROGRAMME
Super Mario
The Legend Of Zelda
Final Fantasy
Skyrim
Call Of Duty
Killzone
Halo
Assassin's Creed
Journey
Beyond: Two Souls
Sonic The Hedgehog
L.A. Noire
Commodore 64
