The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has entered the warp zone. Video Games Live, the video-game music concert series produced by composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, will be in town July 6 through 8, an event guaranteed to take the classical concert-going experience to a whole new level.

"I like to describe it as having all the power and emotion of the symphony orchestra, but combined with the energy and excitement of a rock concert, mixed together with all the technology, cutting-edge visuals, and interactivity and fun that video games provide," Tallarico says.

"The reason we wanted to create this show was to prove to the world how culturally significant and artistic video games had become. We wanted to create a show for everybody, not just for hardcore gamers. Video Games Live is not just an orchestra onstage plucking out game music, it's all the greatest video-game music of all time played by a full symphony orchestra, and everything is completely synchronized with massive video screens, rock 'n' roll lighting, stage-show production and interactive elements with the crowd."

Video Games Live produced its first show in 2005 and has since celebrated the music of games such as Halo and Metal Gear Solid throughout the world. Returning to Winnipeg after a highly successful show last year, the upcoming shows will mark the first three-day event in VGL history.

"We're putting on two different shows. The show on Wednesday is 50% different material from the show on Monday," Tallarico says. "On the Tuesday, there will be a huge Guitar Hero competition onstage, we have a video-game cover band playing (Mode 7, see below), we're doing an industry Q&A session and panel, I'm onstage giving away a ton of prizes and there will be a whole bunch of games people can play. It's really turning into 'Gamers Woodstock,' if you will."

The winner of the Guitar Hero competition actually gets to play alongside the WSO and Tallarico, burning up the fake frets to Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion. Tallarico, who says his early musical influences were his cousin Steven Tallarico (aka Steven Tyler) and the John Williams-composed Star Wars soundtrack, says video games can inspire kids to pick up instruments.

"Look at Guitar Hero and Rock Band," he says. "The music industry has reported a 30% increase in the sales of instruments in the last two years. You talk to the people at the guitar stores and they'll tell you that with first-time buyers, it's because of those games."

Even if you can't differentiate Mario from Luigi, don't worry, VGL is still for you.

"The most letters and emails we get from people are normally from non-gamers or the people who haven't played a game since Ms. Pac-Man in 1982," Tallarico says. "They are the ones most surprised by the quality of music, how amazing the music really is."

WSO artistic director Alexander Mickelthwate is sold.

"I wasn't so familiar with video-game music, but I listen to a whole bunch now," Mickelthwate says. "It's really awesome, actually. Some of those composers, like Nobuo Uematsu from Final Fantasy, they have created really intense stuff."

VIDEO GAMES LIVE WITH THE WSO
July 6-8, 8 p.m., Centennial Concert Hall