Video games at the SymphonyEver heard your parents complain that video games are nothing but violence and gore? The newest repertoire of symphony orchestras is challenging that view. Beginning in 2004, the music from the videogame series "Final Fantasy" has been captivating audiences across the country as orchestras have performed the soundtrack to sold-out crowds. The score was written by Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu and premiered in Japan in 2002 with the Tokyo Philharmonic. In May 2004, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale performed the score in a combined musical-visual extravaganza called "Dear Friends—Music From Final Fantasy." As the orchestra performed the music, video screens throughout the concert hall projected footage from the "Final Fantasy" videogame series. The Chicagoland Pops Orchestra performed the concert in March, where the reception was equally huge among videogame enthusiasts. Orchestras have noticed how successful these concerts have been in bringing younger crowds, particularly 18 to 30 year olds, to the symphony. This success is causing orchestras nationwide to jump on the "Final Fantasy" bandwagon. In July the Detroit Symphony Orchestra staged a similar concert, though their video projection mixed videogame images with shots of the orchestra musicians. Other performances have already been scheduled for Hartford, San Diego and Atlanta. Check to see if the "Final Fantasy" music is coming to a Concert Hall near you, and if you go, make sure to bring your parents to give them a different view of video games! Persepolis and World Heritage Sites Host Iranian OrchestraImagine what it would be like to hear the National Symphony Orchestra perform at some of the United States’ greatest historical landmarks, like the Grand Canyon, the Statue of Liberty, or Yosemite National Park. Pretty cool, huh? Well, the Nations Music Orchestra of Iran is going to do just that, but at their own country’s monuments! Beginning in September, the Nations Music Orchestra, headed by Peyman Sultani, will have 12 performances of classical and Iranian music at 12 Iranian historical monuments. The concert event begins at the World Heritage Site of Persepolis, an ancient Persian city founded in the 6th century BC. Some of the other performance sites include the Kavous Dome of Golestan, El Goli of Azarbaijan and Shazdeh Garden of Mahan. Each concert will be slightly different than the previous ones. Because of the size of the locations, 5,000 people can attend each performance. That is almost twice as many people as Carnegie Hall can fit when sold out! This concert series is sure to be a "monumental" event! |
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Goodbye vitamins, Hello BachThe next time you get sick or feel down, before going to the medicine cabinet try popping in a classical music CD! Recent studies by South African physiotherapist Dr. Frances le Roux show that music can aid in medical treatment of all sorts of conditions, both physical and mental. She found that among her patients suffering from infectious lung disease, those treated with classical music playing had more positive emotions, lower stress hormone levels, and better immune markers. Dr. le Roux’s research also found that the music playing increased the number of antibodies (germ-fighting agents in the body) in the immune system, which gave more energy to the individual. According to Dr. le Roux, classical music benefits health conditions because the rhythms of the music work well with the body’s natural rhythms, such as moving faster and slower, longer and shorter, which many other forms of music do not do. But not just any classical music will help someone’s illness; specific pieces are best for specific conditions. Here is a list that Dr. le Roux put together of the classical works that treat problems the best:
Did you know......that Peter Tchaikovsky had a fear of conducting? When he was a conductor at the Music Conservatory in Moscow he had trouble conducting out of fear that his head would fall off. The story goes that while he conducted with one hand, he held his chin with his other hand! Did you also know that when Tchaikovsky was 32, he and Camille Saint-Saens, another famous composer, composed and performed their own two-person ballet for themselves? Apparently it was a lifelong dream that the two composers shared. That explains why Tchaikovsky wrote so many scores for the ballet, including Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker Suite! |
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