On Saturday, May 8th the University of Maryland’s Gamer Symphony Orchestra in College Park held their Spring concert. It was my 4th time seeing the GSO play in the past two years, and they’ve been doing it since 2005. The GSO is a college run volunteer orchestra, usually attracting a big crowd for their free semi-yearly concerts that last about 2 hours.
Arriving just when they started at 3pm due to getting stuck in traffic, the only remaining seating was on the balcony because the main floor of the concert hall at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center was full. GSO’s Fall concerts are held at a nearby chapel, so the Spring concerts held at the performing arts center are much better becasue of the theater seating and acoustics of the large room. The show was run at a nice pace, with just a small amount of time for introductions, and played something for everyone.
They started off with a more obscure selection with a melody of themes from Mother 3, which some will be familiar with from Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Making a great choice with something that was already orchestrated, they played Gusty Garden, the main theme from Super Mario Galaxy. Hearing this live was awe inspiring as they put on a powerful performance of Mario’s adventure. Aerith’s theme from Final Fantasy 7 got stronger during the last third of the song and felt heavy with emotion.
GSO plays Gusty Garden from Super Mario Galaxy.
As a Legend of Zelda fan, the performance of themes from The Wind Waker was one of the best I’ll probably ever hear from the game of the title screen and intro themes. I felt that they kept the speed of the song up at a good rate compared to other arrangements I’ve heard, and I got goosebumps when it hit the intro theme when the game explains the Hero of Time saving Hyrule. Finishing with the credits theme of The Wind Waker, this was my favorite of the show.
GSO plays a melody of music from Zelda: The Wind Waker.
After a 15 minute intermission, a male vocalist sang Snake Eater from Metal Gear Solid 3 while playing the piano and put on a good performance, though I prefer the original vocalist from the game. Next was Ashley’s theme originally from WarioWare Smooth Moves (and arranged in Super Smash Bros. Brawl) which was a weirder song to see performed live. The choirs contributed to Hymn of the Fayth from Final Fantasy X, and wrapped up with a melody of themes from Katamari Damacy including the famous Katamari on the Rocks.
But they weren’t done, after the audience gave a standing ovation, the conductor asked if they wanted more, while two other conductors rushed out carrying a sign that said “CONTINUE?”. So they played a song from one of the Civilization games that they’ve played in the past (though I’m not familar with) that included the chorus.
Check out the Gamer Symphony Orchestra’s website for more information and mp3s of previous shows for download.
Tags: Gamer Symphony Orchestra, GSO, Spring 2010 Concert, Super Mario Galaxy, UMD, Zelda: The Wind Waker
RSS Feed