Symphony orchestra plays video game scores by Israeli composer in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Jewish Symphony Orchestra offered a special concert featuring an innovative and unique genre of music in partnership with the Consulate of Israel in Los Angeles in November.  Titled “The Music of Inon Zur,” the audio-visual show focused on video game scores.

Over the course of his career, Zur, has composed over 50 such scores, including the unforgettable melodies accompanying the Fallout series, the Dragon Age series, and The Elder Scrolls: Blades, games played by tens of millions of fans across the world.

“We held an event which was truly unique and special, offering a complete audio-visual experience, which brought Inon Zur's works from computer games to life,” said Consul General Dr. Hillel Newman. “I am proud of having Israelis who break grounds in every field and I am proud that the Israeli Consulate was a partner in putting on this unprecedented performance.”

The concert also included the World Premiere of the concert suite from “Syberia: The World Before.” It took place at the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts.

The music played by the Jewish Symphony Orchestra accompanied by a choir was enhanced by video clips from the relevant computer games. In addition, Grammy Award-winning pianist Emily Bear and singer Jillian Aversa also performed during the concert.

“I had the privilege of conducting Inon’s very first video game, Star Trek: Klingon Academy,” LAJS Maestra Noreen Green recalled ahead of the concert. “Many years later, the LAJS presented some of his award-winning video game music in concert at the FORD Theatres. We have celebrated each other’s children’s B’nai Mitzvot, and shared many family Shabbat dinners together.”

“Most recently, when Inon was scoring his game Syberia: The World Before, he asked me to connect him with Emily Bear, an award-winning pianist/composer I have had the privilege to collaborate with many times,” she added. “The result was the amazing score for this video game, which is based on a Holocaust survivor who is a pianist. I am thrilled to have the honor of presenting the World Premiere of this gorgeous concert suite.”

The concert also included a piece by Zur honoring IDF soldiers who fell in the Sinai during the war of 1956.