Just before the start of a recent concert at the Maltz Performing Arts Center in Cleveland, members of a symphony orchestra assembled on stage to tune their instruments.
But they weren't all dressed in formal concert attire.
A trumpet player seated in the brass section donned a red shirt, denim overalls and a red cap bearing the letter 鈥淢鈥 on the front, just like the beloved mascot Mario of the iconic Nintendo game series. Across the ensemble, a woman in a Yoshi costume took her place in front of a large xylophone, while Jackie Kurtz, dressed as the main character from The Legend of Zelda, sat behind her harp.
These 70 or so musicians make up the Video Game Symphony, an orchestra founded in Northeast Ohio that鈥檚 solely dedicated to playing video game music.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an underrepresented area of classical music,鈥 said Kurtz, one of the symphony鈥檚 co-founders. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 so beloved by so many people 鈥 a wide range of ages and genders 鈥 and it鈥檚 really important to reach those people where they are.鈥
Kurtz founded the Video Game Symphony in 2023 with Andrew Keller, who shares her passion for this genre of music and is now the symphony's music director.
鈥淲e at the VGS believe this is the classical music of the future,鈥 Keller said. 鈥淚 personally believe that video game music is unparalleled in its ability to tell stories, arouse emotions and transport people into different worlds.鈥
Music from classic games of the 鈥80s, 鈥90s and even 2000s like Super Mario Brothers, The Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft are staples in the group鈥檚 repertoire.
鈥淲e focus on the classics because those have permeated the culture more,鈥 Keller said. 鈥淏ut we also want to bring in new music for our younger audiences and just to stay contemporary.鈥
The genre spans generations, Keller said, whether someone listening grew up with the first iteration of Super Mario Brothers from the early 1980s or the last iteration of The Legend of Zelda 鈥 Breath of the Wild 鈥 released in 2017.
鈥淎ll of a sudden they'll realize how great that music was and how memorable it was and now how they're feeling those emotions outside of the game without the visuals,鈥 Keller said.
Founding the Video Game Symphony
Kurtz, who鈥檚 been a singer and a harpist since a young age, earned her degree in music education from the University of Mount Union in Alliance and master鈥檚 degrees in music theory and vocal performance from Kent State University.
That鈥檚 where she met Andrew Keller, who was working toward a doctorate degree in music theory and composition. The two bonded after discovering a mutual love of a popular 鈥90s video game.
鈥淚 asked him what his favorite video game was and he said Chrono Trigger, and I said 鈥楾hat鈥檚 my favorite game, too!鈥欌 Kurtz said. 鈥淚t was kind of an obscure choice so it was really exciting.鈥
The pair eventually developed a relationship, and they've now been dating for six years. One day, Kurtz shared a 鈥渃razy鈥 idea she had with Keller about forming their own symphony orchestra.
鈥淚 said, 鈥榃e should found a symphony that plays video game music,鈥欌 Kurtz said. 鈥淎nd he said, 鈥榊es, we should.鈥欌
Video game companies like Nintendo and Square Enix hire some orchestras, which tour and play music from certain series like Zelda and Final Fantasy, Kurtz said. But there aren't a lot of grassroots orchestras that are dedicated to playing the music.
鈥淲e鈥檙e just thinking, 鈥榃hy don鈥檛 we have that here in Ohio?鈥欌 she said.
The pair started reaching out to the music community and building a foundation for the orchestra. Whether musicians had a love of video game music or not, there was plenty of interest in participating.
鈥淲e were very pleasantly surprised to have some people who, video game music is their passion, and some people who barely recognize the 鈥楳ario鈥 theme,鈥 Kurtz said.
Rehearsals began in June 2023 with around 20 members. These days, the orchestra has grown to over 70, with around 20 additional members in an accompanying choir.
鈥淲e鈥檝e found so many like-minded people that have joined and share our love for this music and our vision for this group,鈥 Keller added. 鈥淲e鈥檙e still at this point a majority volunteer orchestra, so people are just doing it out of sheer love for what we鈥檙e doing.鈥
Reaching new audiences
Throughout the past two years of performing, Keller said there's been a mix of audience members. Many grew up playing the games and some show up dressed as their favorite character.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e lighting up like Christmas bulbs every time we play something they know,鈥 Keller said. 鈥淎nd then we get people that don鈥檛 know anything about this music, anything about what we do.鈥
Part of the mission of the Video Game Symphony is to make orchestral music more accessible, especially to those who may not find a connection with traditional classical music.
鈥淲e're bringing an entirely new audience into the classical musical world, which is something that is so important to me,鈥 Kurtz said. 鈥淚 want people to come to see us and hear this wonderful music and I want this to maybe be their first experience going to an orchestra ever. And then maybe they'll go to more and more orchestras and support the arts in other ways.鈥