Even if you’re not into video games, Central Florida Community Arts Symphony Orchestra thinks it has a “Critical Hit” (yes, that’s a videogame joke) in its new concert called “From 8-Bit to Epic.” It’s a video game-based concert, for gamers and non-gamers alike.
The presentation explores the evolution of music in video games, from nostalgic themes – think Atari-era or the heyday of Super Mario Brothers – to today’s symphonic soundscapes that evoke emotion and mood in the same vein as classical composers.
Justin Muchoney is Artistic Director and interim Executive Director of CFC Arts. He said this show came together because video games have become part of our cultural lexicon, speaking to people across different generations.
And the music choices bear that out, Muchoney explained. “It is a 40-year journey… going all the way back to Super Mario Brothers and Zelda and Pong and the very early days of Atari and Nintendo, through games that are popular the world over today - everything from Fortnite to Animal Crossing to Final Fantasy.”
“You will hear music from your favorite games performed by 360 musicians, which gives it this awe and this power that the music really needs and deserves,” said Muchoney, adding that CFC Arts boasts the largest symphonic orchestra in the country.
The combination of symphonic music and video games may seem an odd one at first, but Muchoney pointed out that these audiences meet in the middle more often than you might think, especially in the last decade or so.
“People have started to catch on to this idea of video game music being a really remarkable symphonic expression,” he said. “The quality of composers writing for these games is incredible, and in some cases, the soundtrack to a video game is 20 or 30 hours long - it is a remarkable amount of music for some of these games.”
So there's more interest than you'd think, but that's part of why we're doing this, because we believe you will recognize some of this music.
Along with catch phrases and memes (think “It’s dangerous to go alone, take this,” originating from dialogue spoken in Zelda, or Mortal Kombat’s famous line that spawned a thousand gifs, “Finish him!”), Muchoney said the music from video games has also made its way into popular culture. “You may not know Zelda the game, but when you hear the music, it will feel familiar. You will understand that this music is kind of standing on the shoulders of a generation or two of great symphonic music, great film scores, all combining this incredible storytelling through orchestral music, and video games are a wonderful medium for that.”
