Composer Tommy Tallarico's relationship with video games and their music goes back more than 20 years, when he was composing scores using the most basic bleeps and bloops as building blocks.
He composed the helmet-crashing music found in mid-1990s editions of Madden NFL , the propulsive themes that kept Earthworm Jim squirming and the atmospheric spacescapes of Metroid Prime .
More recently, he has put the music of video games, both his work and that of others, in front of audiences that might have never flipped a joystick and wiped out an alien horde.
Mr. Tallarico is a co-creator of Video Games Live! , a stage show that combines elements of video game culture with symphonic performance. The concert will be presented by Symphony Orchestra Augusta on Friday as part of the Westobou Festival.
"I wanted to prove to the world that video games are artistically and creatively viable," Mr. Tallarico said in a recent telephone interview. "I also wanted to usher a new generation to the symphony. It's about art and technology, the old and new school, colliding."
Mr. Tallarico has worked on more than 275 video games. He said he has been in a unique position to watch, and participate in, video game music as it became something that can be used in a production such as Video Games Live!
"I've seen the genre go from those bleeps and bloops to orchestras and choruses," he said.
He said that, like a game, the performance is built around elements of discovery, surprise and interactivity. A Video Games Live! performance can include patrons playing games while the orchestra performs the score, changing the tone and tempo according to the player's progress, a live Guitar Hero experience, and live interviews with video game industry professionals.
"It's not just a hook," Mr. Tallarico said. "We call it Video Games Live! for a reason."
Although similar concerts have been constructed around movie music, Mr. Tallarico said game music works better.
He explained that film scores are usually written to specific storytelling beats, while video game composers, because their scores are often the only thing heard during game play, provide more freedom to the composer.
His instruction is often something along the lines of: Write a three-minute piece for horsemen with swords.
"I firmly believe that if Beethoven were alive today, he would write music for video games," Mr. Tallarico said. "He wouldn't write for movies. I mean, who wants people talking over the top of their music?"
Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.
ONSTAGE
WHAT: Video Games Live!
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Bell Auditorium, 712 Telfair St.
COST: $20-$50; visit augustasymphony.org
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