When it comes to your favorite video games, you might never think to listen to them. You might think to keep your ears open for sound effects, but in most cases you probably aren’t paying any attention to the great music that has gone into video games for over two decades.
Recently, I found out that the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh is putting on a special concert called Video Games Live!, a multimedia recreation of the best video game music throughout history. They’re showcasing themes from Zelda to Halo with exclusive video footage, synchronized lighting, live action and unique audience-interactive segments to create something very cool for any video game music lover. They’re even having a pre-show festival featuring game demos, costume contests, and more surprises!
The concert is at Heinz Hall on July 11th & 12th. To show their appreciation for library teens (as well as your friends & family), they’ve offered us an exclusive $5 discount code on tickets. Use code 13364 to receive your $5/ticket discount. You can order today at the Heinz Hall Box Office (Downtown on corner of 6th & Penn), by calling 412-392-4900, or by visiting www.pittsburghsymphony.org .
One of the things I like especially about video game music is that, like film scores, it affects you without you ever paying attention. Have you ever been playing a game and felt your blood pumping but weren’t sure why? It’s probably because the soundtrack to the game you were playing was really driving and energetic. Video game music, for the same reason it’s cool, is also really adaptable to exciting live performances.
For example, in addition to the library’s own books and CDs on the subject, check out the Halo theme (scored by Martin O’Donnell), as performed by the group Corporeal:
or this rendition of the Mega Man 2 theme (composed by Manami Matsumae, Takashi Tateishi, and Yoshihiro Sakaguchi) by The Minibosses:
or check out this medley of the Zelda theme (composed by the legendary Kōji Kondō), by The Minibosses and Chromelodeon:
Video games and rock. What more do you need?
~Joseph
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main
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