{"id":95152,"date":"2020-06-09T16:48:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T20:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=95152"},"modified":"2022-11-02T13:00:31","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T17:00:31","slug":"video-game-virtuoso","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2020\/video-game-virtuoso\/","title":{"rendered":"Video Game Virtuoso"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin magazine-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-right-middle has-text-position-x-right\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1200\" height=\"464\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner-636x246.jpg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner-1024x396.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner-768x297.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Photo courtesy of Ivan Linn<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">CFA Alumni<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tVideo Game Virtuoso\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\"><em>Assassin&#8217;s Creed <\/em>Symphony Conductor Ivan Linn brings video games live to the concert hall<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar magazine-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">June 9, 2020<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/authors\/emily-white-holmes\/\">Emily Holmes<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph magazine-block-editorial-introparagraph is-style-large has-paragraph-color-tertiary\"><div class=\"wp-block-editorial-introparagraph-content\"><p>The lights in the concert hall dim and the conductor is illuminated by a spotlight. With a flick of his baton, the orchestra before him swells to life.<br><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a show that begins with all the hallmarks of a typical symphony orchestra performance. But then a rock band joins in. And, behind the musicians, a large screen flashes a montage of animated segments from the popular video game franchise&nbsp;<em>Assassin\u2019s Creed<\/em>. This is the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/assassinscreedsymphony.com\/\"><em>Assassin\u2019s Creed<\/em>&nbsp;Symphony<\/a>, a worldwide multimedia concert tour that takes the video game\u2019s music to the stage, combining an 80-piece live orchestra, a rock band, a choir, and even holograms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As conductor of the show,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivanlinn.com\/#home-section\">Ivan Linn (\u201921)<\/a>&nbsp;is bringing classical music to new audiences. The doctor of musical arts student, an accomplished pianist, got his first taste of the musical opportunities video games offer in 2011. New to Boston, he\u2019d joined the Video&nbsp;Game Orchestra, a group that performs arrangements of video game music. Since then, he\u2019s composed music and played piano on scores for popular titles like&nbsp;<em>Final Fantasy XV<\/em>, which has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote magazine-block-bu-pullquote alignwide is-style-modern has-image has-image-focus-center-middle has-tertiary-theme\"><div class=\"wp-block-bu-pullquote-inner\"><blockquote><div class=\"container-lockup\"><div class=\"container-icon-outer\"><div class=\"container-icon-inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"464\" class=\"bu-blocks-background has-background-opacity has-background-opacity-70 wp-image-95153\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner-636x246.jpg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner-1024x396.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/videogame-virtuoso-banner-768x297.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/div><\/div><div class=\"container-text\"><hr\/><div class=\"quote-sizing\">Music is the most powerful language. It\u2019s a part of me and the way I live.<\/div><footer class=\"caption\"><br\/>Ivan Linn<\/footer><hr\/><\/div><\/div><\/blockquote><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WHAT IT\u2019S LIKE ON STAGE:<\/strong>&nbsp;I feel absolute pleasure when the first note starts. I\u2019m incredibly focused. When you\u2019re on the podium, you can\u2019t mess up. If you do, then the 3,000 people behind you will witness it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>HOW YOU BECAME A CONDUCTOR:<\/strong>\u00a0I first got on board [with the Symphony] as a music arranger. Then the producer thought it would be a good idea for me to become the music director. After that, they said, if I reproduced all the music and am the music director, then why don\u2019t I conduct as well? It\u2019s\u00a0my first time conducting publicly. I\u2019ve done a lot of conducting in recording studios, but in the studios, you can redo everything if there is any mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>HOW YOU\u2019RE SPREADING YOUR LOVE OF SYMPHONIC MUSIC:<\/strong>&nbsp;It\u2019s a great community of fans. I meet lots of people traveling to celebrate the game with us. We hear that people have never been to a symphonic concert, but because the orchestra is playing the title they love, they want to come out and experience the music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>COOLEST VENUE YOU\u2019VE PERFORMED IN:<\/strong>&nbsp;The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. I was quite nervous\u2014that\u2019s where John Williams (Hon.\u201985) received an American Film Institute Life Achievement Award. It\u2019s unforgettable\u2014so many great artists, musicians, and producers have shared the same stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO KNOW:<\/strong>&nbsp;I was an actor when I was young on a popular television program called&nbsp;<em>Justice Bao<\/em>, which is basically the Chinese version of&nbsp;<em>Game of Thrones<\/em>. I played the son of Chen Shimei, the son-in-law of Emperor Renzong [who was the fourth emperor of the Song dynasty]. I remember I angered the director because I couldn\u2019t cry for the camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WHERE YOU FIND INSPIRATION:<\/strong>&nbsp;I\u2019m working on a project for Netflix\u2014composing electronic music for a new show\u2014and the theme music came to me in the shower. I guess when you\u2019re distracted and there\u2019s water pouring on you, these things come to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>WHAT MUSIC MEANS TO YOU:<\/strong>\u00a0Music is the most powerful language. It\u2019s a part of me and the way I live.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-collection-billboard magazine-block-editorial-collection-billboard\">\n\n\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-intro-title\">This Series<\/h3>\n\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-article\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-media\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"collection-navigation-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1024\" height=\"600\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2019\/11\/Alexis-Smith-Trombone-Maestro-thumbnail-1024x600.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2019\/11\/Alexis-Smith-Trombone-Maestro-thumbnail-1024x600.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2019\/11\/Alexis-Smith-Trombone-Maestro-thumbnail-636x373.jpg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2019\/11\/Alexis-Smith-Trombone-Maestro-thumbnail-768x450.jpg 768w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2019\/11\/Alexis-Smith-Trombone-Maestro-thumbnail.jpg 1370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-media-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2019\/trombone-maestro\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-media-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>Trombone Maestro<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-small-title\">Also in<\/h4>\n\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/rising-star-2\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Rising Star<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"collection-billboard-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">August 10, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2023\/bold-music\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Bold Music<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">May 31, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2023\/niko-cohen-designing-figure-skating-costumes\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Designing for the Ice<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">October 11, 2022<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2022\/anais-azul-personal-music\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Personal Music<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/rising-star-2\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Series home<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/article>\n\n\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s a show that begins with all the hallmarks of a typical symphony orchestra performance. But then a rock band joins in. And, behind the musicians, a large screen flashes a montage of animated segments from the popular video game franchise&nbsp;Assassin\u2019s Creed. This is the&nbsp;Assassin\u2019s Creed&nbsp;Symphony, a worldwide multimedia concert tour that takes the video [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6310,"featured_media":95153,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[],"bu-publication":[191],"magazine-article-category":[372,377],"magazine-topic":[392],"news-article-category":[],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[386],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/95152"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95152"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/95152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95154,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/95152\/revisions\/95154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95153"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95152"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=95152"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=95152"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=95152"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=95152"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=95152"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=95152"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=95152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}