When I looked at my calendar at the start of 2026, I was quite content with what I saw, because it contained many soundtrack concerts. Many of these concerts are going to be held here in the Netherlands, and better yet, quite a few in my hometown of Groningen. The first one I could reach on my bicycle was already quite special. The North Netherlands Orchestra (NNO) has been performing game music for almost a decade now, but instead of the standard formula of reinviting the same guests, video game music specialist Eímear Noone was invited to bring her own program and to conduct the orchestra. Noone means a lot to me because she was the first person to agree to an interview, and I have seen her a couple of times since then, including at a concert in Amsterdam last year.
What I love about the game music concerts in Groningen is that they are more than a concert. When you enter the lobby, you see all kinds of arcade cabinets, a place where you can play Mario Kart with your friends, and a VR game located in a different room. There was also a setup where you could play a platformer by playing notes on musical keyboards that created platforms in the game for the characters to stand on.
Noone has been doing these kinds of concerts for several years now and has gathered a lot of game music from different games and composers. As a result, I had heard some of the music before at her Amsterdam concert, so I will not go into much detail about it in this report. Fortunately, I could listen to many new pieces as well, starting with the first one, which was a cue from Call of Duty WWII by Wilbert Roget II, an excellent opener for this concert. After several familiar pieces, including the use of the trash can for Resident Evil 5, we could listen to a newly orchestrated piece from Spyro the Dragon by Stewart Copeland, who was the drummer from the band The Police. Before the finale of the first half started with Toprak’s Fortnite, we could listen to a brand new piece from Austin Wintory’s score from Towerborne, which sounded lovely.
The second half started with an amazing jazzy piece from Psychonauts 2, and it was a good example of how the NNO is very capable of playing modern music as well as traditional classical music. The next block consisted of two World of Warcraft pieces, with the first being music from the latest expansion, The War Within. The second piece was, of course, Noone’s own “Malach: the Angel Messenger,” which I consider her magnum opus. It is a brilliant piece, but would have been even better if a choir had been present. During this piece, the soprano for the concert was also introduced, namely Celine Byrne.
After two pieces from composer Inon Zur, which are becoming pretty standard for game music concerts, Byrne returned on stage to perform a new piece that Noone had composed for the game Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, which was an operatic chanson, which Byrne originally sang for the game.
After hearing the wonderful “No Escape” again from Hades and a new suite from Sea of Thieves, we could listen to the final two pieces of the evening, which were both bangers. When you have a professional soprano at your game concert, you have to perform “Korobeiniki,” a Russian folk song whose melody is used in the Tetris game. What I loved about this version was that Byrne responded to a cheer from the audience and playfully challenged the audience to do more. The final song of the night was again “Legends Never Die,” a fantastic song written explicitly about the challenges League of Legends players face.
I have seen NNO grow over the years when it comes to game music. I still remember their first game concert in 2017, when you could see the musicians’ uncomfortable faces on stage. Over the years, they kept doing these concerts and improving on them. For this edition, they stepped out of their comfort zone again by inviting a different artistic leader, who brought her own program and experience. The NNO adapted perfectly to this new situation, delivering a stellar performance.
It was also amazing to see many generations in the hall, with parents bringing their children, young adults who play games, and old folks like me who grew up with games and still like to play them from time to time. The NNO game concerts, including this one, are the perfect introduction to orchestral live music for a wide range of people, and I hope that the orchestra will continue this trend. It was again a fantastic evening of celebrating orchestral game music.
Concert information
Where: Oosterpoort in Groningen, the Netherlands
When: January 20, 2025
Orchestra: The North Netherlands Orchestra conducted by Eímear Noone
Soprano: Celine Byrne
Program
- Wilbert Roget II – “A Brotherhood of Heroes” from Call of Duty WWII
- Utada Hikaru – Suite from Kingdom Hearts
- Greg Edmonson – Suite from Uncharted II
- Craig Stuart Garfinkle – Suite from Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2
- Kōta Suzuki – “Wesker Battle” from Resident Evil V
- Grant Kirkhope – Suite from Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
- Stewart Copeland – “Tiger Train” from Spyro the Dragon
- Austin Wintory – “The Belfry” from Towerborne
- Pinar Toprak – Suite from Fortnite
Intermission
- Peter McConnell – “Lady Luctopus” from Psychonauts 2
- Adam Burgess – Suite from World of Warcraft: The War Within
- Eímear Noone – “Malach, Angel Messenger” from World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
- Inon Zur – Suite from Starfield
- Inon Zur – “Main Theme” from Fallout 4
- Eímear Noone – Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2
- “Chanson de la Nuit Éternelle”
- “Noir Masquerade”
- Darren Korb – “No Escape” from Hades
- Robin Beanland – Suite from “Sea of Thieves”
- traditional – “Korobeiniki” from Tetris
- Najand / Seaver / Trante – “Legends Never Die” from League of Legends
