New Classical Music Stream Highlights the Art of Video Game Music

When was the last time you spent a weekend listening to a piece of music for hours on end? For gamers, that’s not an uncommon practice. Along with story, graphics, and gameplay, the music plays a vital role in the gaming experience, helping to immerse the player and provide clues on where the action is headed. But despite the sophistication of video game scores, their composers have not been appreciated within our traditional classical music institutions. Jennifer Miller Hammel, a classically trained vocalist and pianist, grew up playing video games and she’s set out to correct that by curating “Arcade,” a new streaming channel on Classical California devoted to video game music. We’ll play some of her favorite pieces and hear why there’s a new generation of classical music fans to be found among gamers.