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<title>Symphonic Game Music Concerts EN</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:600d7087-1b7a-68ec-9eea-ce32d5c91165</id>
<link rel="self"  href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/feed/atom/?lang=english" ></link>
<updated>2010-09-03T12:32:15+02:00</updated>
<author><name>Symphonic Game Music Concerts News</name>
</author>
<entry>
<title>First Symphonic Fantasies CD review published</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=139" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:4b57862e-44e6-5850-7a85-a88dc1cf8a9b</id>
<updated>2010-09-03T12:32:15+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The popular video game music website SEMO published the first &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; CD review today:
&quot;Despite the live setting, the album has a top studio quality, given all recordings were approved, edited, and mixed at the WDR Studios and subsequently fine-tuned and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. The album provides a lasting testament to the ambitious creativity of the concert and is a definitive tribute to Square Enix music. [...] Overall Score: 10/10.&quot;

The single disc album will be released on September 17, 2010 and is available for pre-order through Amazon.de for 14.95 EUR plus shipping.
The MAZ Shop is offering a special deal for people who are living outside of Europe: Shipping is 6 EUR only. The price of the CD is 18.95 EUR.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Fantasies CD: release on September 17</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=138" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:1c5d827e-8eee-7ff3-5485-c6dfb596d1b2</id>
<updated>2010-08-12T15:29:13+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The concert album &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; is going to be released on September 17, 2010 by Decca (Universal Music). This is one week earlier than originally announced. The single disc album is available for pre-order through the Amazon.de shop for 14.95 EUR plus shipping.

The recordings of the concert in Cologne with music from &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot;, &quot;Secret of Mana&quot;, &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;, &quot;Chrono Cross&quot; and &quot;Final Fantasy&quot; were supervised and approved by the composers and the arrangers. They were edited and mixed at the WDR Studios and subsequently fine-tuned and mastered at Abbey Road Studios.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Fantasies CD: now available for pre-order through Amazon.de</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=137" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:5e16e4c8-9e1b-40eb-a752-24ad62d575f2</id>
<updated>2010-07-25T14:25:45+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The concert album &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; is going to be released on September 24, 2010 by Decca (Universal Music). The single disc album is now available for pre-order through the Amazon.de shop for 16.99 EUR plus shipping.

The recordings of the concert in Cologne with music from &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot;, &quot;Secret of Mana&quot;, &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;, &quot;Chrono Cross&quot; and &quot;Final Fantasy&quot; were supervised and approved by the composers and the arrangers. They were edited and mixed at the WDR Studios and subsequently fine-tuned and mastered at Abbey Road Studios.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Fantasies CD to be released in September</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=136" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ce7abcc8-0b59-8244-cef1-9f79c3f19efa</id>
<updated>2010-05-31T12:20:39+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The concert album &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; is going to be released in September 2010 by Decca (Universal Music).

The recordings of the concert in Cologne with music from &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot;, &quot;Secret of Mana&quot;, &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;, &quot;Chrono Cross&quot; and &quot;Final Fantasy&quot; were supervised and approved by the composers and the arrangers. They were edited and mixed at the WDR Studios and subsequently fine-tuned and mastered at Abbey Road Studios.

The &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; concert was honored by the audience with 20 minutes of frenetic standing ovations. Reflecting its success, WDR Radio Orchestra manager has noted in an interview &quot;What an evening! The atmosphere was indescribable, just magical. After the concert, we received tons of letters and e-mails. The fans demanded a CD with the recording of our concert. I am absolutely excited that Universal Music is going to release the album with the beautiful music now&quot;.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>News on Symphonic Legends published</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=135" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ecd64250-bf24-6d84-fc9f-d996eb431643</id>
<updated>2010-02-25T11:37:09+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The WDR Radio Orchestra will present &quot;Symphonic Legends&quot; on September 23, 2010 at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne, Germany.

Says orchestra manager Winfried Fechner: &quot;The concert will be directed by Swedish conductor Niklas Will&eacute;n who is the new chief conductor of the WDR Radio Orchestra. It will be his first concert featuring video game music, and it is going to be a special treat, because Niklas Will&eacute;n is a sound wizard and at the same time he is one of the biggest fans of video game music! The young pianist Benyamin Nuss will join us again, and of course percussionist Rony Barrak who has been with us since the very first concert in 2008. Additionally we invited the State Choir Latvija from Riga&quot;.

Remaining tickets for &quot;Symphonic Legends&quot; are available at www.koelnticket.de (search for: symphonic legends). ]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>WDR Radio Orchestra to perform more video game music</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=134" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:9595113e-8ed7-6d76-ca7e-de90cd9ced2e</id>
<updated>2010-02-19T11:41:33+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[&quot;We plan to make video game music an integral part of our performances&quot;. Says Winfried Fechner, manager of the WDR Radio Orchestra. The ensemble hopes to continuing performing two video game concerts per season in subsequent years.

Remaining tickets for &quot;Symphonic Legends&quot; on September 23, 2010 are available at KoelnTicket.de (search for: symphonic legends).
Details about the concert program will be revealed soon at the official website (www.symphoniclegends.com).
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>75 percent of the tickets for Symphonic Legends sold</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=133" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:7b5130e0-4085-230b-9ebd-05e25bfbd1f4</id>
<updated>2010-01-19T09:15:28+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[One month after the start of ticket sales for &quot;Symphonic Legends&quot;, 75 percent of the available tickets are already sold. On September 23, 2010 (Thursday), the WDR Radio Orchestra will present the new video game music concert at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne, Germany.

Remaining tickets for &quot;Symphonic Legends&quot; are available for 16 Euro to 29 Euro at KoelnTicket.de (search for: symphonic legends).
First details about the concert will be revealed in February.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Legends announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=131" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f2a62538-e000-b4e3-b095-c591a0b39424</id>
<updated>2009-12-17T09:35:00+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The WDR Radio Orchestra will present &quot;Symphonic Legends&quot; on September 23, 2010 (Thursday) at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne, Germany.

Says Winfried Fechner, orchestra manager of the WDR Radio Orchestra: &quot;Thanks to the positive feedback on Symphonic Shades and Symphonic Fantasies that was beyond our wildest expectations, I am very happy to announce Symphonic Legends. Symphonic Legends will be our next big video game music concert with outstanding arrangement and performance quality&quot;.

Tickets for &quot;Symphonic Legends&quot; will go on sale December 19, 2009, ranging from EUR 6 to EUR 30. Pupils, students up to 35 years, trainees, severely handicapped persons, people who do military service or alternative service and holders of the Cologne Pass get a 50% discount on the regular ticket price by presenting a certificate. Tickets will be available at www.koelnticket.de (search for: symphonic legends). ]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>New video game music concert announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=130" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:bbd731f9-cd3e-12ce-ec5d-84cfe7a76b0e</id>
<updated>2009-09-25T12:48:39+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[On September 23, 2010 (Thursday) the WDR Radio Orchestra will present a new concert with music from video games at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne, Germany.
&quot;We will continue!&quot;, Winfried Fechner, manager of the WDR Radio Orchestra announces. &quot;We were overwhelmed with letters and e-mails. The excitement of the fans is phenomenal. The positive feedback on Symphonic Fantasies is beyond our wildest expectations!&quot;.
&quot;Now I am extremely glad to say: Yes, we will continue to produce video game music concerts. The next one will take place on September 23, 2010 at the beautiful Philharmonic Hall in Cologne. The WDR Radio Orchestra and I are already much looking forward to it!&quot;, he adds.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Live Broadcast of Symphonic Fantasies</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=129" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f9bf323a-1870-cd0d-214b-45ac2f6711e0</id>
<updated>2009-09-05T09:51:14+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[World premiere for a video game music concert: &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; will be broadcast live on radio (WDR4), web radio (audio streaming) and - attention! - by video streaming from the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne, Germany on September 12.
Additional information and links can be found at www.symphonicfantasies.com.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>First titles to be performed at Symphonic Fantasies announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=128" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:d9f5fb4d-2616-44b4-972a-a05efa44acef</id>
<updated>2009-08-27T11:44:16+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[First titles to be performed at the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot;-concerts in Oberhausen and in Cologne have been announced now:
Kingdom Hearts: Dearly Beloved, The Other Promise and A Fight to the Death
Secret of Mana: Fear of the Heavens, Into the Thick of it and The Oracle
Chrono Trigger/Cross: Main Theme of Chrono Trigger, Scars of Time and Battle with Magus
Final Fantasy: Prelude, Bombing Mission and Battle at the Big Bridge
More titles will be revealed on September 1 at the official website.
Very few remaining tickets for the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; concert scheduled on September 12, 2009 at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne are available for 20 Euro at www.koelnticket.de/index.php?mapid=tickets&amp;ev_id=732623 (search for: symphonic fantasies). 
The tickets for the extra concert on September 11, 2009 at the Arena in Oberhausen are ranging from 18 Euro to 30 Euro. They are available at www.koenig-pilsener-arena.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Nobuo Uematsu to attend Symphonic Fantasies</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=127" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:4ffba5dc-40e5-cd3a-b6cd-f446936ab2fd</id>
<updated>2009-07-23T10:00:00+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Completing the all-star guest list, Mr. Final Fantasy himself, one of the biggest names ever in video game music, Nobuo Uematsu will also attend the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; concerts both in Oberhausen and in Cologne.
&quot;I feel very honored that my music from Final Fantasy will be performed in Germany.&quot; Says Nobuo Uematsu enthusiastically. &quot;I am very much looking forward to listening to the newly arranged titles that will be performed by a full orchestra. See you at the concerts!&quot;. 
  
The renown WDR Radio Orchestra and Choir Cologne, comprised of more than 120 musicians, will present the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; concerts on September 11th and 12th, 2009 at 8 PM. Both concerts will be conducted by the Grammy award winning artist Arnie Roth. These highly anticipated concerts are a tribute to the music of video games by Square Enix including &quot;Final Fantasy&quot;, &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;, &quot;Chrono Cross&quot;, &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot; and &quot;Secret of Mana&quot;. Square Enix is a Japanese company that is currently rated as one of the world's best producers of digital entertainment software. 
The legendary Nobuo Uematsu adds the crown jewel to the stunning array of fantastic composers who will be attending the concerts, namely Yoko Shimomura (&quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot;), Yasunori Mitsuda (&quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;) and Hiroki Kikuta (&quot;Secret of Mana&quot;).
Remaining tickets for the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; concert scheduled on September 12, 2009 at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne are ranging from 6 Euro to 30 Euro. They are available at www.koelnticket.de/index.php?mapid=tickets&amp;ev_id=732623 (search for: symphonic fantasies). 
The tickets for the extra concert on September 11, 2009 at the Arena in Oberhausen are ranging from 18 Euro to 30 Euro. They are available at www.koenig-pilsener-arena.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Hiroki Kikuta to attend Symphonic Fantasies</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=126" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:4d27e174-00b5-2dd5-fd72-94f66c1381f7</id>
<updated>2009-07-16T10:00:00+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[&quot;It will be my second visit to Germany.&quot; Says &quot;Secret of Mana&quot; composer Hiroki Kikuta.
&quot;It is an almost surreal feeling to come back again after ten years, but this time listening to my video game music performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra. I am extremely grateful to those who made this wonderful opportunity possible.&quot;
 
The renown WDR Radio Orchestra and Choir Cologne, comprised of more than 120 musicians, will present the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; concerts on September 11th and 12th, 2009 at 8 PM. Both concerts will be conducted by the Grammy award winning artist Arnie Roth. These highly anticipated concerts are a tribute to the music of video games by Square Enix including &quot;Final Fantasy&quot;, &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;, &quot;Chrono Cross&quot;, &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot; and &quot;Secret of Mana&quot;. Square Enix is a Japanese company that is currently rated as one of the world's best producers of digital entertainment software. 
Hiroki Kikuta will be joined at the concerts by fellow composers Yoko Shimomura (&quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot;) and Yasunori Mitsuda (&quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;).
Remaining tickets for the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; concert scheduled on September 12, 2009 at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne are ranging from 6 Euro to 30 Euro. They are available at www.koelnticket.de/index.php?mapid=tickets&amp;ev_id=732623 (search for: symphonic fantasies). 
The tickets for the extra concert on September 11, 2009 at the Arena in Oberhausen are ranging from 18 Euro to 30 Euro. They are available at www.koenig-pilsener-arena.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Yasunori Mitsuda to attend Symphonic Fantasies</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=125" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ce6505ba-d1b0-7eaa-ba07-3769f0f2e5e8</id>
<updated>2009-07-09T11:00:00+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[&quot;I could have never imagined that my music would eventually be heard by a German audience let alone be performed by such a wonderful orchestra.&quot; Says &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot; composer Yasunori Mitsuda. &quot;I am very grateful to have the opportunity to attend these concerts and listen to my own music live along with my fans. I look forward to meeting everybody.&quot; 
 
The renown WDR Radio Orchestra and Choir Cologne, comprised of more than 120 musicians, will present the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; concerts on September 11th and 12th, 2009 at 8 PM. Both concerts will be conducted by the Grammy award winning artist Arnie Roth. These highly anticipated concerts are a tribute to the music of video games by Square Enix including &quot;Final Fantasy&quot;, &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;, &quot;Chrono Cross&quot;, &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot; and &quot;Secret of Mana&quot;. Square Enix is a Japanese company that is currently rated as one of the world's best producers of digital entertainment software. 
Yasunori Mitsuda will attend the concerts together with his colleague Yoko Shimomura (&quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot;) who announced last week that she would also be coming.
Remaining tickets for the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; concert scheduled on September 12, 2009 at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne are ranging from 6 Euro to 30 Euro. They are available at www.koelnticket.de/index.php?mapid=tickets&amp;ev_id=732623 (search for: symphonic fantasies). 
The tickets for the extra concert on September 11, 2009 at the Arena in Oberhausen are ranging from 18 Euro to 30 Euro. They are available at www.koenig-pilsener-arena.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Yoko Shimomura to attend Symphonic Fantasies</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=124" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ab2ddd46-b571-39bc-77a2-ec27046596c9</id>
<updated>2009-07-02T11:30:00+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[&quot;I am thrilled that my music will be performed in two concerts,&quot; Says &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot; composer Yoko Shimomura who will be attending &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; both in Oberhausen and in Cologne. &quot;Last year I recorded an album jointly with the WDR Radio Orchestra. Now, it will be a great honor for me to listen to the music live, this time together with the fans!&quot; 
The renown WDR Radio Orchestra and Choir Cologne, comprised of more than 120 musicians, will present the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; concerts on September 11th and 12th, 2009 at 8 PM. Both concerts will be conducted by the Grammy award winning artist Arnie Roth. These highly anticipated concerts are a tribute to the music of video games by Square Enix including &quot;Final Fantasy&quot;, &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;, &quot;Chrono Cross&quot;, &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot; and &quot;Secret of Mana&quot;. Square Enix is a Japanese company that is currently rated as one of the world's best 
producers of digital entertainment software. 

Tickets for the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; concert scheduled on September 12, 2009 at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne sold out immediately. Due to the enormous demand, the WDR Cologne decided to release a limited number of additional 
tickets. The tickets are ranging from 6 Euro to 30 Euro, available at www.koelnticket.de/index.php?mapid=tickets&amp;ev_id=732623 (search for: symphonic fantasies). 

Additionally there will be an extra concert on September 11, 2009 at the Arena in Oberhausen. The tickets are ranging from 18 Euro to 30 Euro, available at www.koenig-pilsener-arena.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>New tickets for Symphonic Fantasies in Cologne</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=123" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:5aae698d-42b8-3733-b2fa-8dd357f6b173</id>
<updated>2009-06-18T18:41:19+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Due to the enormous interest of the fans the WDR decided to offer a limited number of additional tickets for the concert performance of &quot;Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix&quot; at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne on September 12, 2009. The new tickets are on sale now at www.koelnticket.de (search for: symphonic fantasies).

At &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; music from &quot;Final Fantasy&quot;, &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;, &quot;Chrono Cross&quot;, &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot; and &quot;Secret of Mana&quot; will be performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra and WDR Radio Choir, conducted by Grammy-winning artist Arnie Roth.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades, 2nd CD edition available</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=122" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:cbb6b1ad-e1a7-e081-6c58-6004777dc4c0</id>
<updated>2009-05-20T00:05:49+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The second edition of Chris Huelsbeck's successful concert album &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; is available now.

&quot;By releasing the second edition we make sure the orchestral recording will be permanently available.&quot; Says Chris Huelsbeck. Just as the first edition of &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot;, the CD contains all of the compositions that were presented live in concert on August 23, 2008 by the WDR.

The price of the CD album is 17,95 EUR (MSRP). It can be ordered at the online shop of the MAZ Sound Tools GmbH (www.maz-sound.com/Symphonic-Shades).
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades CD album, 2nd edition</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=121" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:c4deeb12-fd32-d5ae-40ec-3de13817a288</id>
<updated>2009-04-24T10:12:58+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Due to high demand the concert album &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; featuring the music of video game music legend Chris Huelsbeck will get a second edition. Despite repeated radio broadcastings, successful distribution at online outlets such as iTunes and Amazon-MP3 and the upcoming concert performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the interest of the fans in adding a real CD to their collection is still enormous.

&quot;By releasing the second edition we make sure the orchestral recording will be permanently available.&quot; Says Chris Huelsbeck.

With its transparent standard-tray the second edition is now lower priced than the first edition, all other details inclusive CD content and the extensive booklet with interview, photos and artwork are identical. Just as the first edition of &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot;, the CD contains all of the compositions that were presented live in concert on August 23, 2008 by the WDR.

Planned release date of the CD is Q2 this year, the price will be 17,95 EUR (MSRP). Pre-orders for the new edition are available at (www.maz-sound.com/Symphonic-Shades).
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades on Amazon-MP3</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=120" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:2b542d28-ab92-dd3c-5307-187f6ec307c2</id>
<updated>2009-04-12T14:23:29+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[&quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; is now available at Amazon-MP3: www.amazon.de/Symphonic-Shades/dp/B001SX96YY.
Chris Huelsbeck: &quot;Fans who cannot wait for the second edition of Symphonic Shades should check out Amazon-MP3. The full album is now available for download&quot;.
Eight titles from &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; will be performed again this year at the concert &quot;Sinfonia Drammatica&quot; in Stockholm, Sweden. Tickets are available at www.ticnet.se. The concert on August 4, 2009 will be conducted by Arnold Roth.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Fantasies sold out</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=119" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:5b2f8139-d097-d9ed-6484-f5b28aceaef1</id>
<updated>2009-04-02T18:54:16+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Indeed there are still five months left until the WDR Radio Orchestra and the WDR Radio Choir will perform &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne. However, tickets are already sold out! Due to the ongoing high demand, the WDR in co-operation with the management of the Oberhausen arena decided to add a second performance of &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot;, taking place on Friday, September 11, 2009 at 8 PM.

&quot;We had to act. The interest of the fans is enormous, and so we will offer a new chance for even more people to enjoy the music with an additional concert date in Oberhausen. Nobody should miss Symphonic Fantasies, it is an important performance of wonderful video game music.&quot; Says a delighted Winfried Fechner, orchestra manager of the WDR Radio Orchestra.

Tickets for &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; in Oberhausen are on sale at www.koelnticket.de (search for: symphonic fantasies).]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Tickets for Sinfonia Drammatica on sale now</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=118" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:db85f095-5423-2ef6-0283-844cdf9aff8d</id>
<updated>2009-03-25T15:37:01+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Tickets for &quot;Sinfonia Drammatica&quot; are on sale now at www.ticnet.se (search for: sinfonia drammatica). For the video game music concert on August 4, 2009 in Stockholm, Chris Huelsbeck himself selected eight titles from &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; which will be performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in Sweden again: &quot;Grand Monster Slam&quot;, &quot;X-Out&quot;, &quot;Gem'X&quot;, &quot;Apidya II&quot;, &quot;R-Type&quot;, &quot;Jim Power in Mutant Planet&quot;, &quot;The Great Giana Sisters&quot; and &quot;Turrican II - The Final Fight&quot;.
Additionally, the concert will feature titles from the CD album &quot;drammatica&quot; by Yoko Shimomura, famous for soundtracks to video games such as &quot;Legend of Mana&quot; and &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot;. 
Says Chris Huelsbeck: &quot;I think it will be another memorable evening. The orchestra is excellent and the concert hall has wonderful acoustics and an almost magical atmosphere!&quot;.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades in concert again</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=117" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:a3a5a173-611a-eec4-31a9-3e15017b6149</id>
<updated>2009-03-20T00:44:40+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[On August 4, 2009, Arnold Roth will conduct the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the concert &quot;Sinfonia Drammatica&quot; in the Konserthuset Stockholm. The concert will combine performances of &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; with selections from the CD album &quot;drammatica&quot; by Yoko Shimomura, famous for soundtracks to video games such as &quot;Legend of Mana&quot; and &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot;.
The concert program titles were selected by the original composers themselves.

Says Arnold Roth, conductor and producer: &quot;Symphonic Shades and drammatica were received very well among fans and critics alike. Both represent the careers and indeed the lives of these composers. Two composers who live far away from each other, but working for the same industry for almost the same number of years. This is very exciting!&quot;.

Tickets for &quot;Sinfonia Drammatica&quot; will go on sale March 25 at www.ticnet.se. Yoko Shimomura and Chris Huelsbeck will be in attendance at the concert and at a Meet and Greet with their fans.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Fantasies: opening fanfare already on YouTube</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=116" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:6ec5dee0-2800-855c-fc40-e2e0f9ffe774</id>
<updated>2009-03-09T12:53:36+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The WDR Radio Orchestra and the WDR Radio Choir will present the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot;  concert on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 8 PM at the beautiful Philharmonic Hall in Cologne, Germany. This event will feature music from the video game soundtracks of Square Enix.
Jonne Valtonen, who will be responsible for arranging all the music, composed the official opening fanfare that has been recorded at the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz recently. It can be watched on YouTube already.

Tickets for &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; are on sale at www.koelnticket.de (search for: symphonic fantasies).]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades on radio again</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=115" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:53f6b8cf-508d-c646-bc18-c86b791f6618</id>
<updated>2009-02-23T13:47:26+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; concerts in August last year were sold out in no time. The same is true for the first edition of the CD album featuring the music from the events. Fortunately German radio station WDR4 will broadcast the recording again (also available via Internet stream) on February 28 (Saturday) at 8 PM.

Only a few seats are still available for &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; on September 12 (Saturday) at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne, Germany. Tickets can be purchased through www.koelnticket.de (search for: symphonic fantasies).
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades on iTunes</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=114" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:e15537a5-9259-404d-ca40-c765508dda03</id>
<updated>2009-02-03T11:24:28+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Since today, the &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; album is available on iTunes (search for: symphonic shades).
Chris H&uuml;lsbeck: &quot;The first, limited edition of the Symphonic Shades album was sold out recently, in less than a month after the initial release. Thanks to everyone who bought one - I hope it brings you as much joy as it does to me!  For everyone who might have missed out on the limited edition (and for those who cannot wait for the second print), we are making it available through various online services: you can find Symphonic Shades on iTunes now. Other sites (Amazon and eMusic) will follow soon.&quot;.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Amazing success for Symphonic Fantasies</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=113" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:b12a73d0-70a8-5d0a-7035-f301102e24c1</id>
<updated>2009-01-28T14:38:45+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Amazing success for &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot;! It only took less than a week to sell more than half of the tickets for the upcoming concert. Thomas Boecker, Executive Producer of &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot;: &quot;We are so grateful. A big 'thank you' to all people who trust in us! We are confident that this concert will be a memorable event!&quot;.

The WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and the WDR Radio Choir Cologne will present the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; concert on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 8 PM in Cologne, Germany. This highly anticipated concert will feature music from the video game soundtracks of Square Enix. The tickets are on sale at www.koelnticket.de and www.ticketonline.com (search for: symphonic fantasies).
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Details for Symphonic Fantasies announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=112" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:5ac1f5b7-9da1-710a-559d-5ed1e1665ad2</id>
<updated>2009-01-20T12:12:03+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and the WDR Radio Choir Cologne will present the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; concert on Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 8 PM. This highly anticipated concert will feature music from the video game soundtracks of Square Enix. The Japanese company Square Enix is rated as one of the world's best known producers of digital entertainment software.

Jonne Valtonen, the award-winning Finnish composer and arranger, has been hired to arrange the music for the &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; concert in Cologne exclusively, using classics such as &quot;Final Fantasy&quot;, &quot;Chrono Trigger&quot;, &quot;Chrono Cross&quot;, &quot;Kingdom Hearts&quot; and &quot;Secret of Mana&quot;. Though Valtonen has amazed fans and critics alike with his scores for video game concerts all over the world, &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; just may be his biggest challenge to date. Grammy-winning artist Arnold Roth will conduct the 70 minutes long concert. Roth is a classical trained violinist, conductor and composer.

Tickets for &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; are available now, ranging from EUR 6 to EUR 30. Pupils, students up to 35 years, trainees, severely handicapped persons, people who do military service or alternative service and holders of the Cologne Pass get a 50% discount on the regular ticket price by presenting a certificate.

The tickets are on sale at www.koelnticket.de and www.ticketonline.com (search for: symphonic fantasies).
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades CD album sold out</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=111" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:cbf34460-f73b-446e-eb45-bff37574cc60</id>
<updated>2009-01-14T15:41:32+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[It did not even need one month for the first, limited edition of the &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; CD to sell out. There are no copies left at the online shop of the MAZ Sound Tool GmbH anymore. This does not come as a surprise, though: the album has been praised by fans and critics alike, calling it a milestone on the field of video game music. Most recently, Music4Games.net wrote in a review: &quot;Huelsbeck's music is extremely engaging in the greatest orchestral tradition of the finest film music and its video game counterparts. The arrangements are of equal beauty and the orchestrations are truly amazing in their own right.&quot;.

Remainders of the CD are still available at online shops such as of 4Players.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>First Symphonic Shades CD review published</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=110" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:3ffccada-5bdc-26cc-7b9d-897b0b52dc3b</id>
<updated>2008-12-14T12:51:34+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The first &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; CD review has been published today, written by editor and video game music expert Chris Greening. An english and a german version of the review is available at the VGMRush website.&quot;To put it succinctly, Symphonic Shades - H&uuml;lsbeck in Concert is the best orchestral game music album ever created. [...]
Simply a perfect production all round. 10/10&quot;.
The CD album is expected to be available from December 17, 2008 and can be ordered at the shop of MAZ Sound Tools.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Mp3 snippets of Symphonic Shades CD online now</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=109" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:a76d5bcc-b97b-3627-cb5e-5e0e31c83116</id>
<updated>2008-12-04T13:51:47+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Mp3 snippets of the &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; CD album are available at the MAZ Sound Tools GmbH (http://www.maz-sound.com/Symphonic-Shades/) website now. The live concert CD will be released on December 11, 2008.
Matthias Ziegs, owner of the online shop MAZ Sound Tools GmbH: &quot;I really cannot promise that the CD will be still available on the release date anymore, given the great pre-sales at this moment!&quot;.

The first, limited edition of 1,000 copies will be sold for one month after release at the MAZ Sound Tools GmbH online shop exclusively.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades CD to be released in December</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=108" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:b7b76637-3799-5c2d-8729-011c9e4f08e4</id>
<updated>2008-11-27T11:40:15+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The time has come. The concert album &quot;Symphonic  Shades&quot; featuring the music of video game music legend Chris H&uuml;lsbeck will be released on December 11, 2008. The CD contains all of the compositions that were presented live  in concert on August 23, 2008 in Cologne, Germany.
&quot;At last, fans will be able to listen to the music of the concerts in the highest quality even if they were unable to attend in person due to the overwhelming demand for tickets from all over the world.&quot; says Thomas B&ouml;cker, Executive Producer of the concerts and the CD album.
The CD, with a running time of about 70 minutes, is available for 22,00 EUR (MSRP) and can be ordered at the MAZ Sound Tools GmbH (http://www.maz-sound.com/Symphonic-Shades/). 
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Fantasies announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=107" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:91bcbd84-ba7f-6158-cf43-9132731236ce</id>
<updated>2008-11-05T12:16:02+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[&quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot; is the name of the new video game music concert that will be held on September 12, 2009 (Saturday). On that day, the WDR Radio Orchestra and the WDR Radio Choir will present brand-new arrangements of video game soundtracks at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne, Germany. The concert will be conducted by Grammy-winning artist Arnold Roth. Percussion superstar Rony Barrak has been also confirmed to join &quot;Symphonic Fantasies&quot;.
More details to be announced soon.

]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Video game music concert confirmed for September 12, 2009</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=106" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:69a32f58-0fe0-54e0-a509-4b1a4dccf3b0</id>
<updated>2008-09-09T12:17:25+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Today, the manager of the WDR Radio Orchestra, Winfried Fechner, confirmed the date for the previously announced video game music concert in Cologne, Germany:
&quot;Next year in September, the gamescom trade fair will open in Cologne. For September 12, 2009 (Saturday) we will be at the Philharmonic Hall and we will present a great concert with video game music. It will include the WDR Radio Orchestra and the WDR Radio Choir. It will feature Arnie Roth, Rony Barrak, and, not to forget, Thomas Boecker, my right-hand man for all this kind of projects.
It will be an unbelievable concert!&quot;.
An English version of the full interview can be found at SEMO.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Concert featuring video game music during gamescom in Cologne announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=105" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:eb85d354-5d24-ffa0-931b-b78176f5c003</id>
<updated>2008-09-03T21:32:18+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Winfried Fechner, manager of the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne, recently announced plans for an event with video game music in 2009 in an interview: &quot;Next year during the gamescom trade fair we will present a great concert at the philharmonic hall in Cologne&quot;.

More information to be announced soon.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Interviews with Symphonic Shades team published</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=104" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:82a473c5-c767-cd0d-dfee-205be304193d</id>
<updated>2008-08-17T12:09:25+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[SymphonicShades.com recently published interviews with Takenobu Mitsuyoshi (arranger), Jonne Valtonen (arranger), Yuzo Koshiro (arranger), Maestro Arnie Roth (conductor) and of course Chris Huelsbeck.

On August 23, 2008 (Saturday) the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and the FILMharmonic Choir Prague will present &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot;: music composed by Chris Huelsbeck including titles such as Apidya II, Giana Sisters, Turrican II, Jim Power, R-Type and many others will be performed. Both events (8 pm and 11 pm) at the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz in Cologne, Germany will be conducted by Grammy-award winning artist Arnie Roth.

English versions of the interviews can be found at SEMO.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades CD album announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=103" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:05c4eb50-fc87-dd7a-f669-9f1785c9d072</id>
<updated>2008-07-07T23:25:08+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[It is final: A CD with the complete recordings of the sold out &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; events will be produced! On August 23, 2008 (Saturday) the WDR Radio Orchestra will present &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot;: music composed by Chris Huelsbeck including titles such as Apidya, Giana Sisters, Turrican, Jim Power, R-Type and many others will be performed.

In total, approximately 70 minutes of music will be featured on CD. The album is available for international pre-order from today at MAZ Sound Tools GmbH (www.maz-sound.com/Symphonic-Shades/). They are selling the CD for one month after release exclusively. The CD will be released in the fourth quarter of 2008 and will be available for 22 EUR.

More info can be found at the official website, SymphonicShades.com.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Takenobu Mitsuyoshi to attend Symphonic Shades</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=102" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:3017b83b-1246-a973-d3bc-7d7ba09551cc</id>
<updated>2008-05-28T14:24:04+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[On August 23, 2008, famous SEGA composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi will attend both &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; concerts in Germany.

It also has been announced that Takenobu Mitsuyoshi will arrange music from &quot;Apidya II&quot; for the &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; events. Thanks to SEGA Germany and Merregnon Studios, the Japanese composer was invited to come to Cologne, Germany to join both concerts performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra at 8 PM and 11 PM.

More info can be found at the official website, SymphonicShades.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Yuzo Koshiro to attend Symphonic Shades</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=101" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:c6f0e442-b0ba-a894-bf1e-ce0b1fa0327a</id>
<updated>2008-04-21T10:18:11+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Veteran video game music composer Yuzo Koshiro will attend both &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; concerts in Germany.

Recently it has been announced that Yuzo Koshiro will arrange music for &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot;: the classic &quot;Jim Power in Mutant Planet&quot;. Thanks to 4Players and Merregnon Studios, the Japanese composer was invited to come to Cologne. He will join both concerts, performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra on August 23, 2008.

More info can be found at the official website, SymphonicShades.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Full concert program for Symphonic Shades announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=100" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ecb6c8a0-3ad8-ec6f-de9f-7d584322b5c3</id>
<updated>2008-04-14T10:35:13+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Legendary music composed by Chris Huelsbeck; arrangements by Jonne Valtonen, Yuzo Koshiro and Takenobu Mitsuyoshi; highly acclaimed soloists Jari Salmela und Rony Barrak; Grammy-winning artist Arnold Roth as the conductor: the &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; concerts by the WDR Radio Orchestra Cologne and choir promise to present video game music in highest quality.

From today the final concert program of the sold out events on August 23, 2008 can be found at the official website, SymphonicShades.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>All tickets for Symphonic Shades sold out</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=99" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:d0544ff8-b7e6-cbf9-c078-3bc0550cd1f0</id>
<updated>2008-04-13T12:49:52+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Tickets for both &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; events on August 23, 2008 are sold out now.

Says Chris Huelsbeck: &quot;I can hardly believe that the second event is sold out - even more than four months before the concerts will happen! This is amazing. Many thanks to all my fans, I am much looking forward to August 23&quot;.

More info can be found at the official website, SymphonicShades.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades to feature music from Turrican II</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=98" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ed69308e-1398-1979-432a-8d3a141b5cf5</id>
<updated>2008-04-07T12:06:27+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[&quot;Turrican II: The Final Fight&quot; will be a part of &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; on August 23, 2008. The main theme from the game will be performed as a 7 min. piano concerto, performed by Finnish pianist Jari Salmela and the WDR Radio Orchestra. The concerts in Cologne, Germany will be conducted by Grammy-award winning artist Arnie Roth.

Only a few tickets are left, available at Ticket Online and KoelnTicket (search for: symphonic). More info can be found at the official website, SymphonicShades.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Jari Salmela and Rony Barrak to perform in Cologne</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=97" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:2c6c7966-b3f3-f946-0b3c-17b740009025</id>
<updated>2008-03-28T14:10:46+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Finnish pianist Jari Salmela and Lebanese percussionist Rony Barrak will perform at both &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; concerts on August 23, 2008. Music written by famous German composer Chris Huelsbeck will be presented.
Jari Salmela will interpret a title from &quot;Turrican 3 - Payment Day&quot;. Rony Barrak will be a part of the orchestra performance of music from &quot;Tunnel B1&quot;.

A few tickets for the second Symphonic Shades concert on August 23, 2008 at 11 pm are left, available at Ticket Online and KoelnTicket (search for: symphonic). More info can be found at the official website, SymphonicShades.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Takenobu Mitsuyoshi arranges for Symphonic Shades</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=96" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:352aec6c-a822-cdc0-f532-7e745e51d36b</id>
<updated>2008-03-10T11:34:51+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Today it has been announced that SEGA composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi will join &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot;. He will arrange music from the classic &quot;Apidya II&quot; for full orchestra which will be performed on August 23, 2008 in Cologne, Germany under the direction of Grammy-award winning artist Arnie Roth.

Takenobu Mitsuyoshi: &quot;I am so grateful for this opportunity! I know that fans rate the soundtrack of Apidya very high&quot;. The full story (in German language) can be found at the offical website, SymphonicShades.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades: new game title announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=95" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:3032d267-a4a2-cd1c-a3a4-ea0c77066312</id>
<updated>2008-03-08T15:39:39+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[SymphonicShades.com announced today that music from the game title &quot;X-Out&quot; will be performed as a part of both concerts dedicated to Chris Huelsbeck on August 23, 2008. The composer says: &quot;I cannot wait to hear the piece performed live by a 50-person-choir featuring Latin lyrics&quot;. The title will be arranged and orchestrated by Jonne Valtonen.

Only a few tickets for the second Symphonic Shades concert on August 23, 2008 at 11 pm are left, available at Ticket Online and KoelnTicket (search for: symphonic).]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Yuzo Koshiro arranges for Symphonic Shades</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=94" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ddcb4fd2-ac1f-1d23-a0e2-bdf968b2f41b</id>
<updated>2008-02-11T10:13:52+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[It has been announced today that video game music veteran Yuzo Koshiro will arrange one title for full orchestra for &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot;. The famous Japanese composer will work on music from &quot;Jim Power in Mutant Planet&quot; which will be presented in both &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; concerts on August 23, 2008.

&quot;It is a great honour to be asked to arrange this legendary music. I appreciate the trust of Chris Huelsbeck in me&quot;, says Yuzo Koshiro. The full story (in German language) can be found at the offical website, SymphonicShades.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Second Symphonic Shades concert announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=93" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:a6aa1107-f335-2091-30fb-df62963c39f5</id>
<updated>2008-01-29T19:15:00+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Tickets for &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; were sold out within a few days only. Today it has been announced that because of the great interest a full repeat of the concert will be performed on the same day as the premiere on August 23, 2008 (Saturday) at 11 pm. Tickets are now available at Ticket Online and KoelnTicket (search for: symphonic).

Says Chris Huelsbeck: &quot;Fantastic news! Fans were already asking me if we could make more tickets available. I would like to thank the WDR and the musicians for making a second concert possible!&quot;

On August 23, 2008 (Saturday) the WDR Radio Orchestra and the WDR Radio Choir will present &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot;: music composed by Chris Huelsbeck including titles such as Apidya, Giana Sisters, Turrican, Jim Power, R-Type and many others will be performed. Both events (8 pm and 11 pm) at the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz in Cologne, Germany will be conducted by Grammy-award winning artist Arnie Roth.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Tickets for Symphonic Shades sold out</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=92" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:c4041cff-1fe6-1ce5-d200-5f7d10039559</id>
<updated>2008-01-15T17:36:59+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Tickets for &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; are sold out since yesterday.

Says Chris Huelsbeck: &quot;I was told that tickets for 'Symphonic Shades' were sold out within two weeks only, which made me very happy. I am extremely grateful that I still have so interested and loyal fans. I am very excited and cannot wait until August. Until then, please check the 'Symphonic Shades' website for additional concert news&quot;.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>First concert interview with Chris Huelsbeck</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=91" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:65d021fb-1a59-0ff6-a652-fc900728b8e5</id>
<updated>2008-01-11T19:08:13+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Today, the German online magazine 4Players.de published a first interview with Chris Huelsbeck regarding the &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; concert on August 23, 2008 (Saturday). Questions such as who came up with the idea, how he is working on the orchestra arrangements and if he is planning with a live concert CD are answered in the text.

From the article: &quot;Chris Huelsbeck's first orchestra concert is a success already: if you are interested in attending the event on August 23 - hurry up, because tickets are almost sold out. A clear sign how popular video game music and especially video game music by Huelsbeck is in Germany&quot;.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Tickets for Symphonic Shades available again</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=90" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:60776709-f968-5050-710b-c1f6e1247f29</id>
<updated>2008-01-05T16:09:33+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[First tickets for &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; were sold out within a few days only. The good news for fans: additional tickets are now available at KoelnTicket.de (search for: symphonic). Ticket prices range from 7,60 EUR to 13,10 EUR.

On August 23, 2008 (Saturday) the WDR Radio Orchestra and the WDR Radio Choir will present &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot;: music composed by Chris Huelsbeck including titles such as Apidya, Giana Sisters, Turrican, Jim Power, R-Type and many others will be performed. The event at the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz in Cologne, Germany will be conducted by Grammy-award winning artist Arnie Roth.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>The GC Opening Concert has passed</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=89" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:d52f8bba-2a5b-1e3b-0abf-28a766d70794</id>
<updated>2008-01-03T22:33:02+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[&quot;Saddness is all that remains when I think back to those last years in Leipzig when they dared to let video game music speak for itself and when they dared to ask their audience to appreciate that music for what it is&quot;, Christoph Winkler, member of the Gewandhausorchester

Source: GameStar.de

Andy Brick, Petr Pycha and Thomas B&amp;ouml;cker would like to thank all fans of the Symphonic Game Music Concerts for their trust, their support and their interest in the series. It has been a great time.
See you in Cologne.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Tickets for Symphonic Shades on sale now</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=88" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:01fbca6e-4320-7490-64de-68566bee10e2</id>
<updated>2007-12-27T17:54:09+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[On August 23, 2008 (Saturday) the WDR Radio Orchestra and the WDR Radio Choir will present &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot;: music composed by Chris Huelsbeck including titles such as Apidya, Giana Sisters, Turrican, Jim Power, R-Type and many others will be performed. The event at the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz in Cologne, Germany will be conducted by Grammy-award winning artist Arnie Roth.
Tickets (8,05 EUR - 13,80 EUR plus shipping) for &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; are now available at: http://www.ticketonline.com/de/de/production/109106-Symphonic+Shades/

&quot;This is like a dream coming true. I still cannot believe it. Who could have guessed that my music would be performed by a full orchestra one day, in a concert dedicated to my work exclusively. I am confident that it will be an amazing production&quot;, says Chris Huelsbeck.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Shades - concert date and conductor announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=87" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:706d2415-4cb3-6d16-88d5-4988fed40117</id>
<updated>2007-12-22T17:35:46+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The WDR Radio Orchestra and WDR Radio Choir will present &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; on August 23, 2008 (Saturday) at 8 PM in Cologne, Germany. At the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz, music by Chris Huelsbeck will be performed, one of the world's most famous composers of video game music.

&quot;This is like a dream coming true. I still cannot believe it. Who could have guessed that my music would be performed by a full orchestra one day, in a concert dedicated to my work exclusively. I am confident that it will be an amazing production&quot;, says Chris Huelsbeck.

The 70 min. of music will be conducted by Grammy-winning artist Arnold Roth. The classically trained violinist, conductor and composer performed with artists including Diana Ross, the Three Tenors and Andrea Bocelli. Orchestras which Arnold Roth conducted include the London Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic. He is also well-known in the world of video game music: in 2005 he conducted the US tour with music from &quot;Final Fantasy&quot;. With his new tour &quot;Distant Worlds&quot; he is now traveling around the world. At the beginning of December 2007 he conducted three sold out concerts with music by John Williams, performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House.

Arnold Roth: &quot;I am very much looking forward working with the excellent musicians of the WDR. I hold Chris Huelsbeck in high regard and it is a great honour for me to conduct his compositions in Cologne&quot;.

Tickets are planned to go on sale next week.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>First Symphonic Shades title to premiere in February</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=86" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:a0c5de03-f3e0-e0a1-4c3d-43e279aee2af</id>
<updated>2007-12-18T14:32:10+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[A first title of the upcoming &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; event will premiere February 17, 2008 in Cologne. While &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; will take place in August 2008, one title will be presented at this time already, performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra. Besides this classic composed by Chris Huelsbeck, music from Final Fantasy, Shenmue and Castlevania will be a part of the event. Entitled &quot;PROMS That's sound, that's rhythm&quot;, the concert will also feature percussion superstar Rony Barrak.

Tickets for the concert on February 17, 2008 are available at Koelnticket.de, tickets for &quot;Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert&quot; will be on sale shortly.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Updated information on Chris Huelsbeck concert</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=85" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:a8d26b64-dbe3-3d88-ed4d-935ccc859d51</id>
<updated>2007-12-11T23:44:46+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Chris Huelsbeck announced today that his concert in August 2008 is entitled &quot;Symphonic Shades&quot; and will be presented by the more than 120 musicians of the famous German WDR Radio Orchestra, Cologne and the WDR Radio Choir, Cologne. Tickets will be available shortly.

Never heard before arrangements of titles such as Apidya, Giana Sisters, Turrican, Jim Power, R-Type and many, many others will be performed in Cologne, Germany in a concert dedicated to Chris Huelsbeck exclusively.
More information to follow at: http://www.vgmconcerts.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy CD is shipping</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=84" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:fee82ac1-6469-3f7c-cd7b-7ba5b308df05</id>
<updated>2007-12-07T14:21:28+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The new Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy CD is available for online purchase at Amazon.com now. The album features Final Fantasy music performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic under the direction of Grammy award-winner Arnie Roth.

&quot;The title selection, the recording quality and the performance quality of the new Distant Worlds CD is excellent. These factors make me call it a Best of Final Fantasy album in every regard,&quot; said series composer Nobuo Uematsu.

More information can be found at the official website of the Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy world tour: http://www.ffdistantworlds.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Chris Huelsbeck in Concert</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=83" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:26b63473-00c5-bdb5-0967-657d104a9eea</id>
<updated>2007-12-04T23:26:16+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Amazing news for all video game music fans: There will be a special symphonic concert in Cologne, Germany in August 2008 featuring music by Chris Huelsbeck exclusively! A full orchestra and choir are going to perform never heard before arrangements of titles such as Apidya, Giana Sisters, Turrican, Jim Power, R-Type and many, many others.
More information to follow shortly at: http://www.vgmconcerts.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy concert world-tour</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=82" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ef1521cb-4880-9a30-f261-3fbc6b797a7c</id>
<updated>2007-10-15T19:08:10+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the release of the first Final Fantasy game to hit the market, a new symphony world-tour with the name Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy will kick off on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at the Stockholm Concert Hall in Sweden. Featuring the music of composer Nobuo Uematsu, the premiere concert will be performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic under the direction of Grammy award-winner Arnie Roth.

More information at: http://www.ffdistantworlds.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Photo section expanded</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=81" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:c3ec922e-9754-44ee-a4cd-6252758f52ce</id>
<updated>2007-10-03T14:58:10+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[New photos from the Symphonic Game Music Concert 2007 are available in our photo section now. Many thanks to S&eacute;bastien Bonset, our photographer!]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>GC concert brochure 2007</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=80" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:841c1fd8-1bd6-78b0-03f0-b7f2f4cf8437</id>
<updated>2007-09-13T10:48:46+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Our team would like to thank author Matthias Oborski and designer Stefan Ellerich of EllisDesign Creative Studio for their amazing work on the concert brochure for this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert.

The stylish concert brochure is a real collector's item: it is offering information about all eleven composers who attended the event, details about the conductor, the orchestra, the soloists - and descriptions about all featured games as well.

Impressions of the concert brochure can be found at http://www.exit-3.net/gc/programm07.jpg.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Video game music to be performed by WDR Radio Orchestra, Cologne</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=79" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:6d20af91-0ccb-7727-f1f7-71af3c0ac217</id>
<updated>2007-08-25T13:24:19+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The German WDR Radio Orchestra, Cologne will perform music from Final Fantasy, Shenmue and Castlevania on February 17, 2008 in Cologne at the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz. The selections are a part of a concert with the name &quot;PROMS That's sound, that's rhythm&quot;. Percussion superstar Rony Barrak, who is famous for his performances at the Symphonic Game Music Concerts in Leipzig will be a part of the event, too.

More information soon.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Autograph session at Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=78" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:2c5f3804-fc6a-4dc3-32ff-5b5a65eaacba</id>
<updated>2007-08-17T14:03:17+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Following the tradition of previous Symphonic Game Music Concerts, there will be an autograph session of 60 min. after the event on August 22, 2007. Composers Chris Huelsbeck, Yuzo Koshiro, Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Michiru Yamane, Allister Brimble, Olof Gustafsson, Tilman Sillescu, Mark Griskey, Matthias Steinwachs, Henning Nugel and Emilio de Paz will stand available for their fans.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert (August 22, 2007) are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Michiru Yamane is coming to Leipzig</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=77" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ac5f1ef2-704c-08cd-2aaf-3716b8261350</id>
<updated>2007-08-15T07:26:21+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Michiru Yamane, composer at Konami, will attend the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert on August 22, 2007 at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig. It will be her second appearance at the concert series: one year ago she performed her music from &quot;Castlevania&quot; on cembalo as a part of the Fourth Symphonic Game Music Concert.

Michiru Yamane  was born in 1963 in the Kagawa prefecture. During her childhood, she learned playing the piano and electric organ and soon started composing  music. Her love of music saw her attend the Aichi Prefectural University of Art in Nagoya. It was here that she spent two years and, through the electrical study department, developed a knowledge of making music with synthesizers. During her time at Graduate School, Michiru Yamane turned down an offer for a role as  part-time music teacher. Instead, she joined Konami in 1988, where she has since worked on many projects such as &quot;International Track &amp; Field&quot;, &quot;SDSnatcher&quot;, &quot;Gradius&quot; and the &quot;Castlevania&quot; series. Yamane is now an Assistant Sound Director for Konami.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert (August 22, 2007) are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.

]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Game Music Concert: Concert program finalised</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=76" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:a2d0f3e0-c734-61b7-aff1-8306d6625c7b</id>
<updated>2007-08-10T13:35:54+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The finalised concert program for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert on August 22 at the concert hall Gewandhaus in Leipzig is now available at VGMConcerts.com. The title Sims 2 and the world-premiere performance of the SEGA production World Club Champion Football: Intercontinental Clubs 2006-2007 by Shenmue composer Takenobu Mitsuyoshi have been added.

The concert program will offer around 100 min. of music , 19 titles and special surprise performances. Additionally Chris Huelsbeck will present his latest CD album &quot;Number Nine&quot; for the first time.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert (August 22, 2007) are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Takenobu Mitsuyoshi is coming to Leipzig</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=75" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:8fa17d0d-458c-8557-9ddd-864f64b07f31</id>
<updated>2007-08-07T11:02:20+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[It has been announced today that Takenobu Mitsuyoshi will attend this year's Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig (August 22, 2007). Takenobu Mitsuyoshi composed and produced SEGA soundtracks for games including Virtua Fighter 3, Daytona USA, SEGA Rally and Shenmue. In Leipzig he will present his latest work live on stage.

Says Takenobu Mitsuyoshi: &quot;I am excited to attend this year's concert in Leipzig. It has been a dream of mine since the very first concert in 2003 when my music from Shenmue was performed at the Gewandhaus. I will prepare a special surprise for my fans in Germany. See you in Leipzig!&quot;

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert (August 22, 2007) are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>GC concert to feature music from Day of the Tentacle</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=74" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:78fbb854-60ae-85a9-be75-0a82261e2dc2</id>
<updated>2007-08-03T11:05:53+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Music from Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle will be performed at this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig. The arrangement for orchestra and choir was supervised by one of the original composers of the game music, Peter McConnell. For the game's soundtrack he worked together with Michael Land and Clint Bajakian.

Says Peter McConnell: &quot;To be honest, it's a little scary. I'd rather not think too much about my music being performed in Bach's city. It really is a tremendous honor.&quot;  (4Players.de interview in German language).

With more than 110 musicians on stage, nine soloists and eleven video game composers from all over the world, this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert promises to become the biggest event of the series so far. The First Symphonic Game Music Concert took place in 2003.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert (August 22, 2007) are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Matthias Steinwachs is coming to Leipzig</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=73" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:89c0dc1a-607d-ec3a-f677-050ed0502b9b</id>
<updated>2007-07-23T14:40:57+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[German composer Matthias Steinwachs will attend this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig.

During his career Matthias Steinwachs worked for companies including reLine, Thalion, Psygnosis, Ikarion, Blue Byte and Funatics. His soundtracks for &quot;Ambermoon&quot; and &quot;Lionheart&quot; are considered as Commodore Amiga classics among fans. &quot;Lionheart&quot; will be performed by orchestra and choir as a part of the Amiga medley at the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert (August 22, 2007) are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>GC concert to feature music from Rayman Raving Rabbids</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=72" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:06a946db-d79b-8bfd-aaef-3cab698ee6f2</id>
<updated>2007-07-18T12:38:55+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Music from Rayman Raving Rabbids will be performed at this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig. Conducted by Andy Brick, the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague and Choir will present a medley arranged by the original composer of the music: Mark Griskey. Mark Griskey will be in attendance at the concert on August 22, joining Chris Huelsbeck, Yuzo Koshiro, Allister Brimble, Emilio de Paz, Olof Gustafsson, Henning Nugel and Tilman Sillescu at the Gewandhaus concert hall.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert (August 22, 2007) are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Boy soprano to perform music from Ragnarok 2</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=71" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:46a3ff7b-0324-1df8-b5ad-fffcecae6f62</id>
<updated>2007-06-07T14:24:54+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Together with the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague boy soprano Josef Kruse will perform music from Ragnarok 2.

Josef Krusek is soloist at Prague's boys choir &quot;Pueri gaudentes&quot;. The choir demonstrated its quality at numerous concerts in the Czech Republic and also on concert tours abroad in Italy, Austria, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Greece and Spain.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert (August 22, 2007) are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Olof Gustafsson is coming to Leipzig</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=70" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:109f8524-48d2-f15b-55bf-52f39ea1e7ba</id>
<updated>2007-05-24T10:47:08+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Swedish composer Olof Gustafsson confirmed today that he will attend this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert and autograph session in Leipzig, Germany. It will be his second appearance at the concert series. His music from &quot;Pinball Fantasies&quot; will be performed as a part of the Commodore Amiga medley.

Olof Gustafsson started doing music for the demo group The Silents. Later, several members of this group decided to go into game development and founded the Swedish game company Digital Illusions. Olof Gustafsson joined and did a wide range of music for their games including the classics &quot;Pinball Dreams &amp; Fantasies &amp; Illusions&quot;. In 2005 he decided to leave and to start a new game company. His last project with Digital Illusions was &quot;Battlefield 2: Modern Combat&quot; where he produced the music and did all sound effects.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>New Chris Huelsbeck album announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=69" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:678aee81-2cac-49a4-7c8f-4f0ad47c32e9</id>
<updated>2007-05-22T12:52:23+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[4Players.de just revealed that video game music veteran Chris Huelsbeck is planning to release a new album - after ten years of silence. Release date of the new album: August 22, 2007. The CD will be sold for the first time at the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert exclusively. Chris Huelsbeck will stand available for an autograph session at the Gewandhaus concert hall.

Chris Huelsbeck explained that the album (Catalogue number: HCD9) will come with new electronic music, no remixes of old games, although the style is going to be retro mainly. A first preview can be downloaded at the 4Players.de website.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>First Commodore Amiga medley titles revealed</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=68" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:ab7005c3-246c-513b-a2ff-dd8c1fe48bba</id>
<updated>2007-05-21T15:00:59+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[On August 22 2007 the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague and choir will perform a medley of music from Commodore Amiga classics.

The arrangement was created by Jonne Valtonen and includes titles such as Alienbreed by Allister Brimble, Lionheart by Matthias Steinwachs and Pinball Fantasies by Olof Gustafsson. Further details will be announced shortly. No Commodore Amiga medley without a classic by Chris Huelsbeck!

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Interview with Thomas Boecker</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=67" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:55a42097-d7a3-c33d-4a4c-8fd3182f719d</id>
<updated>2007-05-15T22:27:58+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Two of three instalments of a comprehensive interview with Thomas Boecker have already been published at  Square Enix Music Online.

Part One: The Symphonic Game Music Concert Series discusses the Symphonic Game Music Concert series, including the upcoming August 22 Leipzig concert.

Part Two: The Merregnon Project discusses the Merregnon project, a three volume multi-composer orchestral soundtrack project dedicated to interpreting a fantasy world.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Allister Brimble is coming to Leipzig</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=66" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:3795e552-3e7f-9c3d-b857-308b4469dde7</id>
<updated>2007-05-14T09:47:56+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Today it has been confirmed that video game music veteran Allister Brimble will attend this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert and autograph session in Leipzig, Germany. It will be his third appearance at the concert series. His music will be performed as a part of the Commodore Amiga medley.

Allister Brimble has one of the largest audio portfolios in the games industry comprising of over 250 titles. These include the hit games, &quot;Roller Coaster Tycoon 1 &amp; 2&quot; for the PC. &quot;Driver 1 &amp; 2&quot; for the Playstation and &quot;The Italian Job&quot; which all reached the no. 1 spot. Amiga titles &quot;Alienbreed&quot;, &quot;Project X&quot; and &quot;Superfrog&quot; are well-known and beloved among fans as well.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>First Commodore 64 medley titles revealed</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=65" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:cf6faf70-1c29-be47-9844-62188976823c</id>
<updated>2007-05-11T11:12:05+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[On August 22 2007 the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague and choir will perform a medley of music from Commodore 64 classics.

The arrangement was created by Jonne Valtonen and includes titles such as Great Giana Sisters by Chris Huelsbeck, The Last Ninja by Ben Daglish and Forbidden Forest by Paul Norman. Further details as well as information regarding the Commodore Amiga medley will be announced shortly.

Tickets for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>GC 2007 concert to feature New Super Mario Bros.</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=64" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:033be7ce-ac28-066e-043c-5b7f0cf55201</id>
<updated>2007-05-09T10:47:16+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[It has been announced today that this year's Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert will feature a brand new arrangement of music from New Super Mario Bros., exclusively arranged by video game music legend Yuzo Koshiro. Yuzo Koshiro will be in attendance at the performance and at the autograph session.

This world-premiere and many others will be presented at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig by the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague, conducted by Maestro Andy Brick. Tickets for the concert on August 22 are available at http://www.ticketonline.de/trans/evlist?&amp;IDX=9700422.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Yuzo Koshiro is coming to Leipzig</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=63" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:28164def-a5d1-9aef-812d-dce5816de780</id>
<updated>2007-05-07T09:48:09+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[It has been confirmed today that video game music veteran Yuzo Koshiro will attend this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert and autograph session in Leipzig, Germany, kindly supported by GamePro.
It will be his second appearance at the concert series.

Yuzo Koshiro is one of the most well-known composers of Japanese video game music. He created the melodies
for productions such as The Revenge of Shinobi, Streets of Rage and The Story of Thor, following up with the score for ActRaiser. Yuzo Koshiro is one of the pioneers in releasing soundtracks with his own music, the live orchestral version of ActRaiser was one of the industry's first of its kind. His latest work includes compositions for Shenmue, Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2 and Castlevania: Portait of Ruin.

Tickets for the concert are available at Ticketonline.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Masashi Hamauzu's music to be performed in Leipzig</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=62" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f4b00b1b-7179-448f-3047-e3559dd82273</id>
<updated>2007-04-30T19:07:48+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Music from Square-Enix composer Masashi Hamauzu's upcoming solo album VIELEN DANK -Masashi Hamauzu- will be performed at the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert this year. The items will be arrangements from his scores to SaGa Frontier 2 and Musashi: Samurai Legend. Masashi Hamauzu has led the Square-Enix Music team since Nobuo Uematsu's departure and is now scoring Final Fantasy XIII.

Conducted by Maestro Andy Brick, the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague and Choir will perform music from various popular video games. Other music to be presented includes selections from StarCraft, Final Fantasy XI, Ragnarok 2, Stranglehold, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Secret of Mana, Settlers II, The Abbey and Turrican 2. The concert will also feature two medleys of music from Commodore 64- and Amiga-classics.

Tickets for the concert are available at Ticketonline.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Chris Huelsbeck is coming to Leipzig</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=61" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:fea8170c-8ea7-a427-4349-9000723ac9b0</id>
<updated>2007-04-23T21:00:56+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Video game music veteran Chris Huelsbeck confirmed today that he will attend this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert and autograph session in Leipzig, Germany, kindly supported by 4Players. It will be his third appearance at the concert series.

Chris Huelsbeck has written soundtracks for more than 70 titles in his career. Many of his scores are regarded as classics among enthusiasts today. He is best known for the soundtracks to the Turrican series of games. A medley of music from Turrican 2 will be performed at the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert. Chris Huelsbeck's music will be also featured in the Commodore 64 Medley and the Commodore Amiga Medley.

Tickets for the concert are available at Ticketonline.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Settlers II - The Next Generation music to be performed in Leipzig</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=60" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:4cd86992-e0c2-9a70-106e-24edc162ffbd</id>
<updated>2007-04-17T10:05:14+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[A suite of music from the successful German game title Settlers II - The Next Generation will be performed at the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany. The music will be orchestrated by Shiro Hamaguchi, well-known  arranger of music from the famous Final Fantasy game series.

The arrangement of the original music was done by composers Ingo and Henning Nugel. The music studio Nugel Bros. successfully provided music for games such as The Moment of Silence and Darkstar One in the past.

We are deeply saddened to announce that Ingo Nugel died on March 25, 2007 in a hospital in Essen at the age of 30. Ingo never lost his will to live. He battled valiantly and full of confidence that he would conquer his illness.

The production team behind the Symphonic Game Music Concerts wants to express their deepest sympathy to Ingo's family, relatives and friends and would like to dedicate this year's concert to Ingo. ]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Percussionist Rony Barrak to perform at GC concert</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=59" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:0e940c01-00c8-d296-d449-8f07474c2ecd</id>
<updated>2007-04-11T11:02:53+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Rony Barrak, one of the world's leading percussionists, will come back to Leipzig for this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert, kindly supported by the Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH.

In the course of his career, Rony Barrak has already worked with greats such as Vanessa Mae, Sarah Brightman or orchestras like the London Philharmonic, with performances at prestigious venues that include the Purcell Room, the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Royal Albert Hall in London. In 2005 he was praised for his performance at the Third Symphonic Game Music Concert at the Leipziger Gewandhaus.

Rony Barrak began on drums at the age of four, was already playing live two years later and made his first successful TV appearance at the age of seven. In the meantime, he himself gives classes, wanting to pass on his love of music. His interest is not confined to a single style: on the contrary, he studies percussion of different origins, such as from Latin America, Africa or India.
Together with the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague and choir Rony Barrak will perform music from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater in a new arrangement. The concert will be held August 22, 2007.

Tickets for the concert are available at Ticketonline.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Singer Conny Kollet to perform at GC concert</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=57" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:96e2589f-95db-ed8b-9871-27332f33cc40</id>
<updated>2007-04-04T11:52:51+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[For the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert, singer Conny Kollet will come back to Leipzig this year, performing the title theme from the game Stranglehold together with the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague, conducted by Andy Brick.

Conny Kollet studied singing at the Music Academy in Frankfurt am Main. She has been singing, dancing or acting on stage since the age of ten. As well as jazz productions, her programme includes new stylistic and heavier rhythms. Conny Kollet is always open to unusual ideas: under the pseudonym &quot;Talia&quot;, she sang the title song for the game SpellForce - The Breath of Winter and since then, she has regularly lent her voice to a range of game productions. In 2005 she performed the &quot;Shadowsong&quot; from SpellForce 2 at the Third Symphonic Game Music Concert with great success.

Tickets for the concert on August 22, 2007 are available at Ticketonline.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Opera singer Izumi Masuda to perform at GC concert</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=56" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:4fc28c41-e606-09d6-2c1a-dc9169830e64</id>
<updated>2007-03-27T19:08:44+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Accomplished Japanese opera singer Izumi Masuda will perform music from Final Fantasy XI at the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert on August 22, 2007.

Izumi Masuda is well-known for creating a new genre that may only be described as pop-opera,
a blend of both styles of music. She studied opera at Kunitachi College of Music and learned under
Kyoko Ito, an eminent soprano singer in Japan. In 1997, she studied voice music at The Juilliard School and drama at Hunter College in New York for 3 years since then. In 2002, Italian composer Ennio Morricone wrote a new song for her which was used for a drama series by NHK.

Izumi Masuda became well-known among Final Fantasy fans with her performance of the song &quot;Distant Worlds&quot; at the concert &quot;VOICES - music from Final Fantasy&quot;; the title from Final Fantasy XI will be presented at the Leipziger Gewandhaus as well.

Tickets for the concert are available at Ticketonline.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert: ticket sales started</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=55" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:84203df8-d306-6807-04c9-cbb0e8dd02a6</id>
<updated>2007-03-23T21:26:00+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Ticket sales for the Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert just started. The concert will be held on August 22, 2007 at the famous Gewandhaus zu Leipzig in Germany. Conducted by Maestro Andy Brick, the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague will be supported by a choir again.

Titles from games such as StarCraft, Final Fantasy XI, Ragnarok 2, Stranglehold, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Secret of Mana, The Abbey and Turrican 2 will be presented. The concert will also feature two medleys of music from Commodore 64- and Amiga-classics.

Tickets are available at Ticketonline.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Game Music Concert 2007 confirmed</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=54" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:44a726b1-13ae-99f2-d471-dff09998f58e</id>
<updated>2007-02-16T13:02:45+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert has been confirmed. The event will take place at the famous concert hall Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany. Conducted by Maestro Andy Brick, the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague and Choir will perform music from various popular video games. The concert is scheduled for August 22, 2007. More details to follow. Ticket sales will start soon.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>PLAY! concert tour comes back to Sweden</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=52" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:7fed5547-137c-fbe0-d5d1-34a4880e5d54</id>
<updated>2006-11-22T16:45:38+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[PLAY!, a symphony concert world tour with music from video game titles will come back to the city of Stockholm, Sweden with two concerts on Saturday, June 2, 2007.

As a special surprise for European fans PLAY! will feature two brand-new medleys of music from Commodore 64 and Commodore Amiga classics, supervised by game music experts Chris Abbott (BACK IN TIME album series) and Jan Zottmann (IMMORTAL album series).

Other highlights of the concerts include the world-premiere performance of Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad presented by full orchestra, choir, pipe organ and rock band as well as famous titles such as Castlevania, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Shadow of the Colossus, The Revenge of Shinobi and The Darkness.

Tickets will go on sale on Monday, November 27, 2006 at 11 AM and can be purchased through the Stockholm Concert Hall box office and online at Ticnet.se.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Autograph session and CD sale 2006</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=51" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:dd9682b7-cad7-1519-ef64-a820617f239e</id>
<updated>2006-08-10T19:46:12+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The Symphonic Game Music Concert 2006 will once more be enriched by an autograph session with famous game composers: Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy), Michiru Yamane (Castlevania), Tilman Sillescu (ANNO 1701), Leon Willett (Dreamfall) and Kai Rosenkranz (Gothic 3) have confirmed their attendance.

The autograph session will be accompanied by a video game music CD sale from synSoniq.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Nobuo Uematsu to attend GC-concert</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=50" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f10a9e60-1067-15bb-86a9-a4473bb7ed02</id>
<updated>2006-07-15T11:54:56+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Legendary video game composer Nobuo Uematsu is going to attend the fourth Symphonic Game Music Concert on August 23 this year. Nobuo Uematsu is known for his work on the Final Fantasy-series. Music from Final Fantasy VII-One-Winged Angel will be presented at the concert, as well as the world-premiere of Final Fantasy VI-Dancing Mad arranged for pipe organ, orchestra and choir.

Nobuo Uematsu will attend the concert and the autograph session afterwards.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Complete concert program revealed</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=49" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:3b4b778f-813e-a4b3-95dd-32357a89a712</id>
<updated>2006-07-07T10:31:11+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The complete concert program for the GC (Games Convention) concert 2006 is online now; all game titles have been revealed today. 
New titles include Gothic 3, Shadow of the Colossus, Turrican 3 and The Legend of Zelda.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Details regarding Final Fantasy at the GC-concert 2006</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=48" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:90b6272c-eab4-64f9-ee4f-21d94c949049</id>
<updated>2006-07-03T14:19:51+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Today it has been announced that the fourth GC (Games Convention) concert in Leipzig, Germany is going to feature two titles from the Final Fantasy series.
&quot;One-Winged Angel&quot; from Final Fantasy VII will be performed together with a brand new arrangement of music from Final Fantasy VI: &quot;Dancing Mad&quot;, written for pipe organ, orchestra and choir. That world-premiere of &quot;Dancing Mad&quot; will take place August 23, 2006.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Four additional titles for GC (Games Convention) concert</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=47" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:a094011f-b456-0936-3335-4f959c7e3b7f</id>
<updated>2006-06-29T12:37:16+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Four additional titles for the GC (Games Convention) concert have been announced today: BLACK, Sonic The Hedgehog, ANNO 1701 and Dreamfall: The Longest Journey.

This year's program is supposed to feature 14 titles in total, including a composition by German video game music legend Chris Huelsbeck.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Tickets sold-out</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=46" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:25467769-5dcc-480d-15ca-8e3bfcae71bc</id>
<updated>2006-06-13T12:57:31+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Tickets for the GC (Games Convention) concert on August 23 are sold-out. For the first time in the history of the series, a choir is going to perform together with the orchestra. The Leipziger Messe announced that this year 400 additional tickets have been made available to meet the high demand.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Fourth Symphonic Game Music Concert is coming, ticket sales started</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=45" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:d8eb5a1e-6c48-338e-af94-1731939cc4b5</id>
<updated>2006-05-23T21:06:40+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Ticket sales for the Fourth Symphonic Game Music Concert just started. The concert will be held on August 23, 2006 at the famous Gewandhaus zu Leipzig in Germany.

Conducted by Maestro Andy Brick, the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague will be supported by a choir for the first time in the history of the GC (Games Convention) concerts.

Titles from games such as Final Fantasy, Castlevania and Revenge of the Shinobi will be presented.

More information is going to be published within the next few weeks, while ticket sales already started. Tickets are available at the Ticketonline.de - website.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Chicago becomes the Mecca of video game music</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=44" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:e7722f7e-ed10-b530-7001-3e65663aed01</id>
<updated>2006-04-21T12:22:35+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The  world-premiere  of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony will take place in Chicago  on  May 27 2006. The tour with symphonic video game music features blockbuster titles including Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, World of WarCraft and  The Legend of Zelda. Veteran composers such as Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy), Koji Kondo (Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda), Jeremy Soule (Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind), Marty O'Donnell (HALO), Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger), Jason Hayes (World of WarCraft), Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill) and Yuzo Koshiro (Shenmue) will be in attendance.

Percussionist  Rony  Barrak and singer Angela Aki will perform live with the orchestra and choir. Angela Aki is going to present &quot;Kiss Me Good-Bye&quot; from Final Fantasy XII. Composer Akira Yamaoka will perform his music from Silent Hill with guitar and the members of the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra.

Additionally  it  has  been  announced  that  music  from Blue Dragon, written  by Nobuo Uematsu, will be an exclusive part of the concert in Chicago, including never seen before scenes from the game. Blue Dragon is developed  by  Hironobu Sakaguchi's (creator of Final Fantasy) company Mistwalker.

More information about PLAY! can be found at the official website at www.play-symphony.com.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Additional titles for PLAY! announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=43" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f207f255-fb75-db48-961b-be177d0a864f</id>
<updated>2006-03-19T12:00:00+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[PLAY! A Video Game Symphony is a world-tour with symphonic video game music. The game titles Chrono Cross, Chrono Trigger, HALO, Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda have been added to the concert program now. Titles such as Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, World of WarCraft and Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind have been announced for PLAY! before already.

The official opening fanfare was composed by Nobuo Uematsu, famous for his music for the Final Fantasy series. The fanfare can be heard at the project's website.

Video game music celebrities Jeremy Soule (Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind), Marty O'Donnell (HALO), Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger), Jason Hayes (World of WarCraft), Akira Yamaoka (Silent Hill) and Yuzo Koshiro (Shenmue) will attend the world-premiere of PLAY! on May 27 2006.

So far, PLAY! concerts have been announced for Chicago, Stockholm, Philadelphia, Vienna (Virginia) and Toronto.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>School concerts featuring video game music announced</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=42" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:346c67cd-9b26-7fae-c302-89a2fd440294</id>
<updated>2006-01-16T11:53:25+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Titled &quot;Helden unserer Phantasie&quot; (&quot;Heroes of Imagination&quot;), four school concerts featuring video game music will be held in Germany in January 2006. Pupils starting from the age of 9 will gather at local concert halls to learn and enjoy with game music. Titles such as Super Mario Bros., Final Fantasy and Sonic The Hedgehog will be performed by the Neue Elbland Philharmonie, conducted by Uwe Zimmermann.
The concerts are supported by the publishers Nintendo,  Square-Enix and SEGA. The official media partner of the concert series is the German online magazine  4Players.de.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>PLAY! announces first concert date in Sweden</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=41" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:5eb93cb3-17b6-6a0b-5c44-305256b1adc4</id>
<updated>2005-12-22T17:00:00+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[On Wednesday, June 14 2006 the famous Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra will celebrate the first Scandinavian symphonic game music concert in Stockholm. The concert is taking place at the prestigious Stockholm Concert Hall, conducted by Grammy Award-winning artist Arnie Roth.
Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, January 12 2006 and can be purchased through the Stockholm Concert Hall box office.
Read more about the announcement at the official PLAY! website.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>First worldwide Video Game Concert Tour coming</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=40" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:a06d8dd5-18f5-bd08-5918-2802dae0802d</id>
<updated>2005-11-07T10:40:25+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[JMP Productions has announced today that PLAY!, a symphony concert series with music from a catalogue of blockbuster video game titles such as Final Fantasy, World of WarCraft, Sonic, Battlefield 1942, Silent Hill, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Shenmue will tour around the world, starting in North America beginning 2006. In total, around 20 titles per concert are going to be presented. JMP Productions is well-known for the successful &quot;Dear Friends - Music from Final Fantasy&quot;-US tour. The music will be performed by some of the finest, world-class orchestras and choirs. Outstanding graphics on large screens above the orchestra will accompany the scores, highlighting memorable moments from the video games.
PLAY! will take off in North America, followed by Europe, Asia and Australia. Latest information including a newsletter can be found at the official website  at www.play-symphony.com.

Press coverage (selection):

1up.com (English)
AOL Radio (English)
GameCloud (English)
IGN.com (English)
Music4Games.net (English)
Spelmusik (Swedish/English)
Cocoebiz (English)
D-Frag (German/English)
RPG-Reich (German)
Final Fantasy World (French)
GameStar Germany (German)
GameStar Italy (Italian)
GameStar Czech Republic (Czech)
GameStar Hungary (Hungarian)
4Gamer (Japanese)
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Photo section expanded</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=39" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:fd728cc3-7c46-350d-031f-2ed2fdbf20d7</id>
<updated>2005-09-01T23:10:40+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[New photos from the Symphonic Game Music Concert 2005 are available in our photo section now.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Autograph session and CD sale</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=38" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:da9c5e4c-59bd-23bd-4052-38298c9c976f</id>
<updated>2005-08-08T11:37:11+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Similar to last year's event, the 2005 Symphonic Game Music Concert will once more be enriched by an autograph session with famous game composers. Chris Huelsbeck (Giana Sisters, Turrican, Star Wars: Rogue Leader), Rob Hubbard (Human Race, International Karate, Nemesis the Warlock), Jason Hayes (StarCraft, Diablo, World of WarCraft) and Gustaf Grefberg (Enclave, Knights of the Temple, Chronicles of Riddick) have confirmed their attendance.

Additionally, the autograph session will be accompanied by a video game music CD sale from synSoniq.
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Giana Sisters in concert</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=37" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:4643aeb1-8a9b-7c97-d342-cd20b400a2e3</id>
<updated>2005-08-03T18:42:26+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The title from German composer Chris Huelsbeck for this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert will be The Great Giana Sisters. The classic has been arranged by Final Fantasy-orchestrator Shiro Hamaguchi, exclusively for the concert on 08 / 17 / 05.
In other news: Different from 2003 and 2004, there won't be any extra tickets available. This year's concert wrote history already: all tickets were sold-out in less than three days.
Read a German interview with Thomas B&ouml;cker about the background of the concerts at at Krawall.net and Gaming-Universe.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>New concert announced today</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=36" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:760a451b-679a-6bd3-b3b8-b10decc6282f</id>
<updated>2005-07-04T20:22:46+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Today, the Leipziger Messe announced a new Game Music Concert, taking place on July 13rd. As a part of their GC-Cup, compositions from games such as Final Fantasy, Turrican, Metal Gear Solid and The Legend of Zelda will be performed by a string ensemble. This Chamber Music Game Concert is going to happen at the Leipziger Augustusplatz in front of the Gewandhaus, starting at 13:00. There is no entrance fee, everybody is welcome to join the event for free.


The complete concert program can be found here, at VGMConcerts.com.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Complete concert program revealed</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=35" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f30e009d-4fdd-95e1-8950-a5ae982d5e70</id>
<updated>2005-06-21T11:45:00+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[UPDATE: The complete concert program is online now; all game and song titles have been revealed today. 
New titles include the arcade classic Donkey Kong and the popular fighting game Soulcalibur II.
This year's title from German composer Chris Huelsbeck is still a secret. However, confirmed news is that Shiro Hamaguchi is arranging and orchestrating his music. Shiro Hamaguchi is well-known for his work as the orchestrator for Final Fantasy-composer Nobuo Uematsu.
The German website SquareNet and the English website Music4Games.net just published an interview with Thomas B&ouml;cker about this year's concert.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Tickets sold-out</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=34" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:6802ce5a-5c46-4fcf-3e2b-3fd71307b6ff</id>
<updated>2005-05-02T22:00:00+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The Third Symphonic Game Music Concert is writing history already: after 2 1/2 days only the tickets are sold-out! There are no confirmed plans for extra tickets like in 2003 and 2004 yet.
Keep up-to-date about the latest happenings and subscribe to the VGMConcerts.com newsletter today! 
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Ticket sales started!</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=31" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:23204e25-5fd1-5b7e-c9d0-7e05976fcf19</id>
<updated>2005-04-29T10:30:04+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Finally: The ticket sales for this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert just started! For people outside of Germany, the English Music by Design Records is offering the tickets.

In 2005, the FILMharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Andy Brick, will perform together with the famous percussion player Rony Barrak and the guitar players from the award-winning rock band -123min. Rony Barrak is well-known for his work together with Sarah Brightman and Vanessa Mae.

Additionally, the following titles have been announced for the concert as well: World of WarCraft, Brothers in Arms, The Chronicles of Riddick, Chrono Cross, Dragon Quest and music from Vivendi-Universal's Lord of the Rings-series. A classic composed by Chris Huelsbeck also has been planned for the concert in 2005.

UPDATE: Read the special about it at Music4Games.net!
]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Ticket sales start on April 29th</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=30" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f501a308-c8da-89bd-b847-b75fda5472e2</id>
<updated>2005-04-27T16:30:00+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[UPDATE: The Leipziger Messe GmbH announced that the ticket sales for the Symphonic Game Music Concert 2005 will start on April 29th. Additionally, Music4Games.net gave notice of coverage for the concert.

The tickets will be available here.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Game Music Concert 2005: First titles confirmed!</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=29" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f258e4a7-31bb-f25c-91a6-8dd2a94da2fd</id>
<updated>2005-02-19T10:18:23+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Today, the German magazine GameStar announced the first titles for this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert. The FILMharmonic Orchestra will perform the popular music, conducted by Maestro Andy Brick. The concert is going to happen in the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, Germany, held as the official opening ceremony of the GC Games Convention on 05 / 08 / 17.
The first six confirmed titles are:
Arcanum, Battlefield 2, Morrowind, Silent Hill 2, International Karate and SpellForce 2. We will let you know as soon as the ticket sales start!]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>GameStar to announce concert program</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=28" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f693db2c-4709-1125-a607-181e5a119140</id>
<updated>2005-02-12T01:50:26+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The German game magazine GameStar is going to announce the first six titles for this year's Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig in their next issue, 04 / 2005. The magazine will be available from 02 / 22 / 05. ]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Newsletter available and free give away</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=27" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:7b43e40c-6750-9088-ef47-70145116a780</id>
<updated>2004-12-07T14:23:12+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[From now on, the VGMConcerts.com newsletter is available for everybody. So if you would like to be kept informed about the news on our projects, you should subscribe right now. Additionally, you will have the chance to win concert tickets in the future!]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Music download: Opening fanfare</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=26" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:f30a541f-3358-687b-a101-65f7d23b3036</id>
<updated>2004-11-13T10:23:01+01:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[The official opening fanfare of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series in Leipzig, Germany is available for download now, in mp3 format. The music has been exclusively written by Maestro Andy Brick, who is also the conductor of these events.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Symphonic Game Music Concert 2005 confirmed</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=25" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:c17a10f6-1edb-7431-1fbd-b875e94296db</id>
<updated>2004-10-28T12:20:00+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Good news for all game music fans: the concert for 2005 has been confirmed already! The official opening ceremony of the GC Games Convention is scheduled for August 17th 2005. Again, the event is going to happen in the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, Germany.

Note: for the first time people outside of Germany will be able to buy their tickets easily, online - in English language. More on this, the concert program and ticket information is expected at the beginning of 2005.]]></summary>
</entry>
<entry>
<title>Welcome to our new website!</title>
<link href="http://www.vgmconcerts.com/main.php?section=news&amp;subs=latest&amp;lang=english&amp;newsid=22" ></link>
<id>urn:uuid:2495750d-5206-a9bd-cc0e-27916a0f6bd5</id>
<updated>2004-10-19T11:19:00+02:00</updated>
<summary type="html" ><![CDATA[Welcome to VGMConcerts.com - a website dedicated to Symphonic Game Music Concerts which involve Merregnon Studios as the team behind the organisation. Therefore you also will find information about the historic concert series in Leipzig, Germany - held as the official opening ceremony of Europe's biggest trading fair for video games, the
GC Games Convention.

If you have any suggestions or advice, please do not hesitate to drop us a note over here.

Thanks for reading.
Merregnon Studios Team
]]></summary>
</entry>
</feed>