BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) and American Composers Orchestra Present Austin Wintory’s Journey LIVE with Executive Producer Ode to Joy
A live, interactive orchestral performance of the popular video game,
featuring a GRAMMY®-Nominated Score where musicians respond to the actions of video game players—in real-time—on stage
“the most beautiful game of its time" – IGN
www.bam.org/installation/2024/journey
New York, NY (November 14, 2024) – The American Composers Orchestra, BAM, and Ode to Joy present an original, interactive live performance featuring Austin Wintory’s GRAMMY®-nominated score for iconic video game Journey, called “the most beautiful game of its time" (IGN) on December 6 and 7, 2024 at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House. Never the same each time it is played, Journey LIVE is an interactive parable, marking an unprecedented formal exploration in which live musicians respond to the actions of video game players—in real-time—on stage.
In the video game Journey, the player controls a robed figure who wakes alone, surrounded by miles of burning, sprawling desert. They discover a looming mountaintop is the goal—but the passage will not be easy. Other players on the same journey can be discovered, and two players can meet and assist each other, but the only form of communication is a musical chime, which transforms dull pieces of cloth to red and allows the player to progress through the levels.
The music, mirroring the solo quest and composed by Austin Wintory, responds to the player's actions, building a single theme to represent the game's emotional arc. The score for Journey centers around a cello soloist, with a myriad of other instruments and sounds that represent the world around the player. The music responds dynamically to player actions, creating a seamless original musical score each time the game is played. This breathtaking synergy between score and action made Journey the first ever video game soundtrack to earn a GRAMMY® nomination in 2012, along with two British Academy Awards.
Journey LIVE takes the game’s solo experience one step further. In the game, it’s impossible not to feel unexpectedly connected to the anonymous travelers players meet as they play–other players are playing at the same time on the network and enter the screen anonymously. Journey allows you to then interact with those players. The live experience is a new sense of connection writ large that seeks to answer the question: What will it feel like to share this experience live with a 21-musician ensemble, plus solo cello and solo soprano responding in real-time to the actions of an onstage player?
As pre-selected audience members take the stage to explore and interact with those playing online, American Composers Orchestra, conducted by Austin Wintory, reacts in real-time to the on-screen action with gorgeous live orchestrations, mirroring the experience of the in-game score.
In addition, American actor and singer Anthony Rapp, best known for his Broadway leading roles in "Rent" and "If/Then" and more recently on screen in "Star Trek: Discovery" (CBS All Access, 2017) will be a featured player.
Fans and avid players of the game can submit themselves for consideration to play live in front of the audience. Using the form at this link, the general public is invited to share their relationship with Journey for a chance to be chosen to play on December 6th or 7th.
BAM will also be featuring Journey-inspired fan art on their social media pages. Fans will be able to upload recent artwork for a chance to be featured. Each submission will also be entered into a raffle to win a pair of tickets to Journey LIVE. Fans are encouraged to submit their original Journey art here.
Program:
Friday, December 6, 2024 and Saturday, December 7, 2024
American Composers Orchestra Performs Journey LIVE
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave | Brooklyn, NY
Tickets: Tickets start at $35. All online orders are subject to a $2 facility fee and $7.50 handling fee per ticket; all orders at the box office are subject to a $2 facility fee per ticket.
Link: www.bam.org/installation/2024/journey
Program:
Austin Wintory – Journey
Austin Wintory, composer & conductor
Ode to Joy, executive producer
American Composers Orchestra
Tommy Mesa, cello
Ariadne Greif, soprano
Patrick O’Malley, arranger
Danny Cohen, projectionist
About American Composers Orchestra
In 1977, a collective of fearless New York City musicians came together to form the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), an ensemble dedicated to the creation, celebration, performance, and promotion of orchestral music by American composers. Over more than 40 years committed to artistry, creativity, community and equity, ACO has blossomed into a national institution that not only cultivates and develops the careers of living composers, but also provides composers a direct pipeline to partnerships with many of America’s major symphony orchestras.
In addition to its annual season, presented by Carnegie Hall since 1987, the ACO serves as a New York City hub where the most forward-thinking experimental American musicians come together to hone and realize new art by developing talent, established composers, and underrepresented voices, increasing the regional, national, and international awareness of the infinite variety of American orchestral music.
ACO produces national educational programs for all ages, and composer advancement programs to foster a community of creators, audience, performers, collaborators, and funders – all dedicated to American composition.
To date, ACO has performed music by 800 American composers, including over 350 world premieres and newly commissioned works. Recent and notable commissioned composers include John Luther Adams, Andy Akiho, Clarice Assad, Carlos Bandera, Courtney Bryan, Valerie Coleman, Dai Wei, Du Yun, inti figgis-vizueta, Marcus Gilmore, Vijay Iyer, Yvette Janine Jackson, Joan La Barbara, Steve Lehman, Tania León, Paula Matthusen, Trevor New, Mendi + Keith Obadike, Ellen Reid, Daniel Bernard Roumain, Carlos Simon, Henry Threadgill, and many more.
Now encompassing all of ACO’s composer advancement initiatives, EarShot is the first ongoing, systematic program for developing relationships between composers and orchestras on the national level. Through orchestral readings, CoLABoratory fellowships, consortium commissions, publishing, and professional development, EarShot ensures a vibrant musical future by investing in creativity today. Serving over 350 composers since its inception, ACO Readings in NYC began in 1991, and since 2008, national Readings have been offered in partnership with orchestras across the country in collaboration with American Composers Forum, the League of American Orchestras, and New Music USA. EarShot Readings composers have gone on to win every major composition award, including the Pulitzer, Grammy, Grawemeyer, American Academy of Arts and Letters, and Rome Prizes.
ACO has received numerous awards for its work, including those from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and from BMI Foundation, Inc., recognizing the orchestra’s outstanding contribution to American music. ASCAP has awarded ACO its annual prize for adventurous programming 35 times, singling out ACO as “the orchestra that has done the most for new American music in the United States.” ACO received the inaugural MetLife Award for Excellence in Audience Engagement, and a proclamation from the New York City Council. Learn more at www.americancomposers.org.
Grammy-nominated and two-time BAFTA-winning composer Austin Wintory's diverse career has straddled the worlds of concert music, film, and video games.
In 2012, Austin's soundtrack for the hit PlayStation3 game JOURNEY became the first-ever Grammy-nominated videogame score, also winning two British Academy Awards, a DICE Award, a Spike TV VGA, and IGN's "Overall Music of the Year," along with five Game Audio Network Guild awards, and a host of others. Excerpts from the score have been performed all over the world since its release, including ensembles such as the National Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Colorado Symphony and Pacific Symphony.
Since JOURNEY's release, his works have run the gamut creatively and scope. THE BANNER SAGA, featuring a large wind ensemble score and string of noteworthy "Youtube" soloists, netted Austin two more BAFTA nominations, was voted "Best Game Score of the Year" by his peers at ASCAP, and was met with critical and commercial success. Most recently, Austin wrote and produced the score for Ubisoft's latest entry to their famed ASSASSIN'S CREED franchise: SYNDICATE. The sprawling score is at its heart a chamber score deeply rooted in 19th century traditions, featuring virtuoso musicians Sandy Cameron and Tina Guo, and an all-star ensemble recorded at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. The score has been lauded as among the top game scores for 2015 by major industry organizations like GameTrailers, IGN, and the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. More at www.austinwintory.com.
*photos courtesy of Journey, 2012. Sony Computer Entertainment.
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American Composers Orchestra is grateful to the many organizations that make its programs possible including Arthur F. & Alice E. Adams Charitable Fund, Altman Foundation, Amphion Foundation, Benevity, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, BMI Foundation, BMI, Inc., Charity Navigator's Giving Basket, Cheswatyr Foundation, Edward T. Cone Foundation, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Ford Foundation’s Good Neighbor Committee, Give Lively, Francis B. Goelet Charitable Trust, Fromm Music Foundation, Steven R. Gerber Trust, G. Schirmer/Wise Music Foundation, The Hearst Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jephson Educational Trusts, Jerome Foundation, MacMillan Family Foundation, Mellon Foundation, New Music USA’s Organization Fund, The New York Community Trust (Musical Arts Fund, Clara Lewisohn Rossin Trust, and Edward and Sally Van Lier Fund), Pacific Harmony Foundation, Paypal Giving Fund, Rexford Fund, Sphinx Venture Fund, TD Charitable Foundation, Turrell Fund, UKOGF Foundation, Virginia B. Toulmin Foundation.
Corporate gifts to match employee contributions are made by Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Triton Container International Incorporated of North America, and Neiman Marcus.
Public funds are provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
