The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra: The Sound of Gaming – Review

The BBC Philharmonic Orchestra: The Sound of Gaming was an ambitious and innovative classical musical event catering for three separate audiences simultaneously. The first, of which I was a part, was the in person audience in the BBC Philharmonic Studio within Dock-10 at Media City which homes the full BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

The second was the BBC Radio 3 audience hearing the special edition of “Sound of Gaming” show live over the airwaves, tuning in to the only radio station in the UK to broadcast live classical music.

The third, and what separates this event from other simultaneous broadcasts, was the ability for listeners to attend virtually via their internet browsers by visiting a cutting-edge portal devised in partnership by BBC Research and Development, Max-R and Improbable.

Throughout the concert, the online community were able to navigate their avatars around the immersive concert space using augmented reality and virtual reality to learn more about specific sections and instruments within the orchestra while also adopting some gaming go-to abilities, such as flying around the venue.

Following a quick but interesting introduction from Adam Szabo, the Director of the BBC Philharmonic, who explained the precision required in getting the timing right to the second to allow for the seamless transition between the preceding and succeeding BBC Radio 3 shows, the show was ready to go on-air.

The production was hosted by Elle Osili-Wood, the award-winning radio and television presenter and video game voice-over artist. Osili-Wood is the regular compere of the “Sound of Gaming” radio show and she faultlessly explained each of the tracks with clarity and enthusiasm.

Conducting the orchestra for this special performance was none other than the ground-breaking Eímear Noone who was the first and currently only female conductor to perform at the Academy Awards ceremony in 2020. Noone, who conducts orchestras across the globe (including Royal Philharmonic of London; Sydney Symphony; Singapore Symphony; Pittsburgh Symphony and Philadelphia Orchestra), clearly has a love for gaming soundtracks. Her joy at bringing each of the pieces to life was infectious. Having composed 28 scores for movies and video-games, including for the international phenomenon and World Video Game Hall of Fame Inductee that is World of Warcraft, we couldn’t have wished to have a more befitting person to direct the music than Noone.

A wide range of music followed, starting with two pieces from Call of Duty the second biggest gaming franchise (only out-performed by Super Mario) which evoked bombers and battlefields. Gareth Coker’s relaxing score for Ori and the Will of the Wisps was enhanced by the soothing vocals of Noone’s fellow Irishwoman, Andrea Delaney.

After a visit to the Fortnite universe (thankfully without anyone performing the floss dance), Noone got to conduct her own World of Warcraft wonderful composition, “Malach, the Angel Messenger” for which she received the “Hollywood Music in Media Award” for “Best Video Game Score” with its sweeping strings, jaunty wind section and imposing brass.

The innovative soundtrack composed by one of Osili-Wood’s “Sounds of Gaming” presenting predecessors, Jessica Curry, to “Dear Esther” containing morse-code spelling out “Esther”, with its crescendos and crashing drums brought to life the Hebridean landscape.

There was a James Bond style urgency to the “Psychonauts 2” performance while Inon Zur’s Starfield, seven years in the making, was reminiscent of John Williams’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “Star Wars” and “E.T.”

Delaney returned for the final two pieces: Ben McCreary’s haunting “God of War Ragnorok” and Tetris (sung in Russian), showing off her incredible vocals and range.

The note-perfect show that showcased how classical music is used to elevate the gaming experience is available to listen to on BBC Sounds here Sound of Gaming – On air, online and in concert with the BBC Philharmonic – BBC Sounds.