I had some misunderstandings about Shota Nakama’s relatively new group, the “Video Game Orchestra” based in Boston. First of all, I thought this was a student group entirely out of Berklee. I figured some of these kids were getting credit for being part of the group.
Again, misunderstanding.
The Video Game Orchestra does have students. Undergrad students from Berklee, grad students from Boston Conservatory, and more. There are also older, professional musicians in the group as well. It’s a vibrant mix of extremely talented, motivated, and energetic musicians. I cannot emphasize that last description, “energetic,” enough.
You know, Boston had two major conventions in as many weekends. First, at the end of March, there was PAX East. Then, over “Easter Weekend,” we had Anime Boston. VGO performed at both, with different set lists and varying capacities.
At PAX East, it was mostly “chamber-sized.” There was the core chamber group, the even smaller string quartet, and the rock band setup. Each of these groups performed at Anime Boston, but Anime Boston got a lot more than that, including: a 40+ piece orchestra, a 20+ choir, a man who made wood block as popular as cow bell, and…
wait for it!…
Nobuo Uematsu.
I personally attended the VGO concert on Friday, April 2nd, at Anime Boston. And I loved what I heard. Let me tell you more about it, after the jump. (more…)
