Play! A Video Games Symphony

Sometimes, I really wish I was able to experience and attend all of the cool game-related stuff going on around the globe. Alas, it is not to be. At least, not yet.

The other day, I went on about video games and music, and today I discovered Play! A Video Games Symphony. Featuring world-class choirs and orchestras, these musical masterminds bring to life songs from your favorite video games, accompanied by related images playing on large screens.

The current program features songs from the following games:

• FINAL FANTASY®
• METAL GEAR SOLID®
• SHENMUETM
• WORLD OF WARCRAFT®
• SILENT HILL®
• BATTLEFIELD 1942 (TM)
• SONIC THE HEDGEHOG®
• THE ELDER SCROLLS III: MORROWIND (TM)

Their touring schedule is as follows:

• Chicago’s Rosemont Theater on May 27, 2006 @ 8pm – click for tickets
• Stockholm’s Konserthuset on Jun 14, 2006 @ 8pm – click for tickets
• Philadelphia’s Mann Center on July 27, 2006 @ 8pm – tickets not yet on sale

The good news for the Japanese is that the CD of the Los Angeles Concert will be available February 15th. Meanwhile, the North American release is yet to be announced. Why? Why do they do this to meeeee?

The concert CD features orchestral performances of songs from various Final Fantasy games, plus live renditions of the vocal themes from Final Fantasy IX and Final Fantasy X sung by the original vocalists, Emiko Shiratori and RIKKI.

Additionally, the album contains the US debut of the live performance from Final Fantasy VI, Maria and Draco.

I’m moving to Japan. They get all the cool stuff. I’ll have to ask the Asian people in my French class to teach me Japanese. I learned how to say thank you in Chinese and now I forgot.

If anyone has attended or plans on attending one of these concerts, please share your experience.

For more information on Play! A Video Games Symphony, visit its official site.