Top Score

Inon Zur remembers his very first viewing of Disney's Fantasia as a small child. Now he's come full-circle, working on the soundtrack to Disney's new video game, 'Fantasia: Music Evolved'.

Composer Garry Schyman always seems to be pushing the bounds of video game music. With help from the Seattle Symphony and the amazing acoustics of the Bastyr chapel, Schyman takes some creative liberties with his 'Shadow of Mordor' game soundtrack.

To call Neal Acree's fan base "passionate" would be a gross understatement. As a contributing composer for World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo III, Video Games Live, and the Stargate series, some of his listeners seem to live and breathe their respective media.

This episode features a nerd-filled interview and some truly lovely live-recorded video game music. From Marble Madness to early Metroid to a rocking series of solos in Dr. Mario, we hope you enjoy our time with NES.

Karl and Will Brueggemann, known as the Super Marcato Brothers, live and breathe retro video games. They compose original and game-inspired music, often playing a number of instruments in the tracks.

Hard-working composer Andrew Aversa shares his various experiences writing music for video games, and he also invites aspiring composers to get in touch with him for feedback and advice. Listen to the interview with this busy -- and very nice -- composer.

A fascinating man with a deeply genuine love of music, Oleksa Lozowchuk is best known in the video-game world for scoring the humorous and addicting 'Dead Rising 3'. This week on Top Score, he speaks to Emily Reese about his album 'Bright Sadness' and about his many musical influences and interests.

Back in 2012, video game media outlets were ablaze with news about FEZ . This press helped launch the career of the game's composer, a then-relatively unknown Rich 'Disasterpeace' Vreeland.

Several years ago, a five-minute conversation took Lisbeth Scott from being a part-time singer and musician in a dance studio to performing in a soundtrack for Hans Zimmer, a titan of the industry ... and she didn't know who he was at the time. She only went up from there.

Laura Intravia's life is something out of a video game music lover's dream. Carving her path by transcribing scores and performing in costume, Intravia is making an indelible impression on the video game music circuit.

This week on Top Score, Emily Reese interviews composer John Broomhall about the music he created for the game 'Transport Tycoon'.

Cellist Tina Guo is best known for shredding on her electric cello. But the lonely, meditative sonority of a video game soundtrack shows the depth of her playable emotion. Cellist Tina Guo discusses her intense classical upbringing and modern musical rebellion on Top Score.

Nearly 75 years after the film debuted, Disney is bringing 'Fantasia' back in a new game called 'Fantasia: Music Evolved'. Composer Inon Zur wrote original music for the game, and oversaw the re-recordings of many classical favorites.

This weekend, Emily Reese of Top Score hosts two panels at the PAX Prime video game convention in Seattle.

Hear Darren Korb (and his new son, Milo) discuss Darren's new soundtrack to the game 'Transistor' on Classical MPR's Top Score.

In 1991, a group of five programmers gathered around a computer. They wanted to create a new kind of game that would tell a new kind of story, pushing technology to its limits. This week, hear the story of Myst on Top Score.

Imagine yourself in a stadium filled with 70,000 fans. That's how many video game fans travel to Seattle during Labor Day weekend for the PAX Prime video game convention. I'll be there hosting a panel called Maestros of Video Games.

Composer Cris Velasco recently finished music for 'Company of Heroes 3: Western Front Armies'. It marks the third time he's scored a World War II-themed game. This project focuses on the Western Front and the Battle of the Bulge. It's on this week's Top Score.

Summer camp. The words bring back memories of warm days, making friends ... and alien invasions? That's the case for students of Minneapolis's Composing For Video Games camp. Find out more about the campers' boundless creativity and hear some of their work on Classical MPR's Top Score.

South Korean composer Goomin Nam explores the emotions of longing and tranquility in his new soundtrack for the game "Monarch: Heroes of a New Age"