I already put this in the lounge, but I don't think there are too many people there that care. Anyway, go to videogameslive.com if you would like to hear a symphony doing video game music. It is being made possible by Tommy Tallarico if you care.

This is just the oddest thing ever. I can understand concerts for the thousands of dedicated Final Fantasy fans, but music from three Tom Clancy games? Would you even be able to tell where one ends and the other begins? It would be akin to John Williams conducting Media Ventures with the Boston Pops.

Sure, if you're a fan of Bill Brown's music.

I bet the same would be true if you weren't familiar with Nobuo Uematsu's stuff.

Fair enough, but consider that the only RPG listed on their program is Everquest II. Last time I checked it was Final Fantasy music that was filling seats at concert halls, not Tomb Raider. Both in Japan AND over here.

A program such as this, however, rarely happens at classical concerts because they are programmed to appeal to select audiences, and for good reason. You don't pair a Beethoven symphony with a new post-tonal 20th century piece, that is, unless you wanted to fill seats, and end up annoying a bunch of people who came to hear Beethoven.

Of course, I might be mistaken, and a few of these game soundtracks might actually be more popular among gamers than I thought.

I dont see how "RPG music" is the only thing that qualifies for appreciation.
The themes from Headhunter are some of the most amazing pieces written for games and among the most critically acclaimed. Halo's music is approaching universal consciousness, and the Medal Of Honor series has some of the most skilled Williams-esque music around. This concert is not pandering, it's trying to break out, and as such is not going to fill seats with rabid fanboys of one lowly japanese composer. It's gonna take some awareness to succeed, and its going to create awareness if it does.
Theres definitely some hypocrisy among "video game music lovers", as they pissed their pants to see Final Fantasy music, but have shrugged this concert off with a "meh", regardless of the high caliber of music that will be played.

Frankly, I've been waiting for this concert for years. Something celebrating the american composers, something stepping outside the RPG's, because there is high caliber music waiting to be performed. The true test is whether there are people ready to listen.

By the way, final fantasy is the only thing filling seats here because its the only thing offered thus far. This is groundbreaking time, why dont we all get excited about being around for the great firsts of game audio?

a) I didn't say Japanese RPG music was the only kind of music that would qualify for appreciation. Final Fantasy is merely an example of what people want. The Orchestral Game Concert series in Japan proves this as FF dominates their programs , and thus manages to fill seats.

b) There are many non-Uematsu composers of RPG music from Japan who seem to be neglected from this program, yet would easily attract a bigger audience than Tomb Raider or Everquest. I’m not trying to argue which music is more deserving; I’m just saying that you should give the fans what they want. If this means being a slave to fanboyism, then so be it. I thought these concerts were for the fans anyway, not to promote some new and relatively obscure works in the same manner as I stated above (Beethoven w/ 20th century).

c) If this program is in fact about promoting those obscure and underrated compositions for video games, then there are more deserving American scores that could be represented here than many of the ones listed. While it's nice to see Giacchino on the program, they are still missing some other very important groundbreaking composers in the industry such as Michael Land, Jeremy Soule, and Lennie Moore.

The site has been updated with the tour dates thus far, check it out if your interested.