Cincinnati Pops To Present New Multimedia Video Game Concert Experience, Heroes: A Video Game Symphony, September 16 & 17, 2023

CINCINNATI, OH (July 17, 2023)—The Cincinnati Pops will present a brand-new video game concert experience, Heroes: A Video Game Symphony, on September 16 and 17, 2023 at Cincinnati Music Hall. The show, produced by Jason Michael Paul Entertainment (JMP Entertainment), will feature the Cincinnati Pops and members of the May Festival Chorus conducted by Kevin Zakresky in a sensational new multimedia concert that includes music from Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, God of War, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Journey, Portal 2, Bioshock, and more, accompanied by high-definition synced clips of the video games projected onto a large screen above the stage.

Heroes: A Video Game Symphony, www.heroes-symphony.com takes you on a hero's journey, as set forth by Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, a narrative framework that can be seen in many of the games, film, and books throughout history. Each stage in the monomyth is a chapter in our story, and each game/musical selection by famed video game composers Nobuo Uematsu, Garry Schyman, Mike Morasky, Yasunori Mitsuda, Michiru Yamane, Kow Otani, Jessica Curry, Inon Zur and Austin Wintory, was chosen primarily for its suitability for the chapter that it is featured in. In this way, our story is the story of a hero, told through the amazing worlds of other heroes, in an unforgettable experience that's not to be missed. The program also includes narration by BAFTA award winner Nigel Carrington from The Chinese Rooms’ Dear Esther.

 

“The narrative of the hero is so fundamental to our human experience, and these incredible video games symphonic pieces will bring that rich tapestry to life,” said Jason Michael Paul.

 

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at online at cincinnatipops.org, by phone at 513-381-3300, or in-person by visiting the Box Office at 1241 Elm Street, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

 

 

 Jason Michael Paul Entertainment is an independent full-service entertainment and concert promotion agency dedicated to creating branded experiences for artists and corporations for touring, temporary, and permanent experiences worldwide. A pioneer and leader in the live symphonic concert industry, JMP Entertainment has worked with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and has been responsible for producing world renowned concerts including events for The Three Tenors, Luciano Pavarotti, Dear Friends ~ Music from FINAL FANTASY, More Friends ~ Music from FINAL FANTASY, PLAY! A Video Game Symphony, The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Concerts, The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, and National Geographic: Symphony for Our World concerttours. With a global following developed over the past two decades, JMP Entertainment presents the finest in performing arts and family entertainment. 

 

Kevin Zakresky is music director and principal conductor for Heroes: A Video Game Symphony. He is also the founder-director of the Sea to Sky Symphony and the conductor of the Pacifica Singers in Vancouver. Kevin also serves as music director and principal conductor of The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, a production that has seen him directing orchestras in San Francisco, Philadelphia, Montreal, Quebec City, Charlottesville, Columbus, Miami and London (with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra in Wembley Arena). 

 

Zakresky is the past Music Director of the Prince George Symphony Orchestra and has recently conducted the St Louis Symphony, Sudbury Symphony, West Coast Symphony, Vancouver Chamber Choir and two concerts with Sea to Sky. He completed his Doctorate at Yale University in 2012. 

 

Zakresky made his CBC broadcast debut conducting Monteverdi with the Vancouver Chamber Choir and the Vancouver Chamber Orchestra in 2014. During his time with the Prince George Symphony, he worked with many soloists, including Jane Coop, Dale Barltrop, Nadina Mackie Jackson and Lucas Wong. He has been a faculty member of the Vancouver International Song Institute, directed choirs at Douglas College and has taught conducting at the School for Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University. He currently teaches at the Vancouver Symphony School of Music.

 

Since 1977, the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra has entertained audiences in Cincinnati and around the globe with its trademark “Cincinnati Sound,” presenting a diverse array of musical genres that has garnered national and international acclaim for the ensemble. The alter ego of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Pops was founded in 1977 by the late Erich Kunzel and is currently led by Conductor John Morris Russell with Damon Gupton serving as Principal Guest Conductor. Notable collaborations with artists have included Dave Brubeck, Kristin Chenoweth, Ella Fitzgerald, Ben Folds, Aretha Franklin, Rhiannon Gidden, Audra McDonald, Smokey Robinson, and Lea Salonga.

 

Committed to sharing music with the world, the Cincinnati Pops has a long legacy of domestic and international tours and was the first Pops orchestra from the United States to perform in China. Recent tours have included Shanghai and Taiwan in March 2017 and Florida in December 2014. Previously, the Pops traveled to Beijing as part of the Opening Festivities of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, and in 2005, the Pops completed a historic tour to China and Singapore, performing in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. The Cincinnati Pops has also appeared before audiences in New York’s Carnegie Hall, Washington D.C., and Japan.

 

Digital performances and recordings have long been hallmarks of the Cincinnati Pops. National telecasts of the Cincinnati Pops on PBS have been viewed by an estimated 30 million people, and American Soundscapes, an online video series produced in partnership with CET Public Television, has surpassed one million views on YouTube since its inception in 2016. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Cincinnati Pops performances were livestreamed for free to viewers from around the world; select performances continue to be livestreamed each season for accessibility. The Cincinnati Pops discography is expansive and tens of millions of recordings have been sold worldwide through the decades. In 2012, the Pops released Home for the Holidays, the first recording on the Orchestra’s own Fanfare Cincinnati label, and in 2015, the Pops released American Originals, which received widespread acclaim for its reimagining of the Stephen Foster songbook, followed by the release of American Originals: 1918, which received a Grammy nomination for “Best Classical Compendium.”