Upcoming in the Arts
In this Issue:
- Video game music events
- Concerto Competition Winners Concert
- Secrest Artists Series: Vijay Iyer Trio
It’s another beautiful day in the Forest. Low 70s. Sunny. Flowers (or at least their stems) are beginning to poke up from the ground. Life is good.
A few items of an artistic nature have hit my inbox in recent days, so I thought I’d share them today. Enjoy!
Video game music events
One of the things I love most about higher education is learning about the specializations of our faculty and where they focus their research and creative work. This crossed my inbox this morning and I wanted to share. It’s from Aaron Hardwick, Orchestra Director & Assistant Professor (and also the Advisor/Coach for WFU Esports):
“Ever wanted to know more about video game music and the buzz around gaming? Or how live performances of these scores elevate the magic of the games we love? Or how video game music can play a role in the survival of symphonic performance? Join me for an academic talk: Game Over? Not Yet: The Role of Video Game Music & Performance
We’ll explore:
- An introduction into Video Game Music
- Confronting biases around video games and its music
- Music & the Gaming Industry
- The relationship of Live Performance of Game Music by Symphony Orchestras
Date: Wednesday, March 5
Time: 5:00-6:00 PM EST
Location: Room M201; Scales Fine Arts Center
Registration: None Required – if possible, send me an email and let me know you are coming.
This talk is a precursor and hopefully provide some context to Wake Forest’s upcoming interdisciplinary project:
We Play Together: Music & Gaming
We Play Together: Music & Gaming is an extraordinary three-day event, April 16-19; blending music, gaming, and academic exploration. Featuring Emmy Award-winning composer Inon Zur, whose scores for games like Starfield have captivated millions, this event also welcomes Pete Hines (’91, P ’25), former Senior Vice President at Bethesda Softworks, and retired NASA astronaut Dan Tani. Together, they will engage students and the community in workshops, a panel discussion, and an Esports LAN tournament, culminating in a live performance by the Wake Forest University Symphony Orchestra of Starfield’s awe-inspiring soundtrack.”
So if your Deac is a music lover, a gamer, or both, this might be a unique opportunity to participate in something quite fun.
Concerto Competition Winners Concert
In other arts news, the Department of Music and Symphony Orchestra will present the 2025 Concerto Competition Winners Concert, featuring Haozhen Xu, marimba, Sarah Bo, cello, and Karina Yang, flute. Friday, February 28, 7:30 p.m., Brendle Recital Hall, Scales fine Arts Center.
Secrest Artists Series: Vijay Iyer Trio
Our next Secrest Artists Series performance is coming up soon:
Vijay Iyer Trio
Thursday, March 6, 7:30 p.m., Brendle Recital Hall, Scales Fine Arts Center
“Described by The New York Times as a ‘“’social conscience, multimedia collaborator, system builder, rhapsodist, historical thinker and multicultural gateway,’”’ Vijay Iyer is one of today’s most in-demand jazz musicians, and is a composer, pianist, and professor in the Harvard University music department. His honors include a MacArthur Fellowship, a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award, a United States Artist Fellowship, and a GRAMMY nomination.
About his all-star trio (including Australian bassist Linda May Han Oh and Tyshawn Sorey, MacArthur Foundation Fellowship-winning percussionist and composer), All About Jazz says, ‘”‘the visionary musician [Iyer] leads an ensemble that formulates an exquisite redefinition of jazz’s well-established instrumental concept of the piano trio.'”