Game on: Symphonic ‘Heroes’ onstage at the Straz Center

Twenty years ago, event producer Jason Michael Paul was elbow-deep in the opera and classical music worlds. He worked with Luciano Pavarotti and the Three Tenors.

“And my boss, the impresario Tibor Rudas, his whole mission was to being opera to the masses,” Paul explains. “Which he did successfully. So I took that as my banner, if you will.

“My job was to bring video game music to the masses.”

Jason Michael Paul

Paul, the brains behind Saturday’s concert performance of Heroes: A Video Game Symphony at the Straz Center (Morsani Hall) in Tampa, is a pioneer in video game concerts, seamlessly blending high definition footage from the actual games with arrangements of the accompanying music for live orchestra.

And, in the case of Heroes, a 24-member choir.

His lightbulb, Paul explains, clicked “on” while he was living and working in Japan. “I had this amazing property, Final Fantasy, that I was working with at the time. And I had seen this success firsthand: They were doing video game concerts in the early 2000s in Japan, but it was just music only, no visuals. They were working with distinguished orchestras like the Tokyo Phil.”

Gaming music was already phenomenally popular in the Land of the Rising Sun. “When you’re in Tokyo, and you go to a record store, the soundtrack section for video games is like a classic rock section in the U.S.,” Paul says.

Why not bring it stateside, he thought. “I saw this as not only an opportunity for me to be the first, but also to appeal to the millions and millions of gamers who are really just looking to come to a show. Rather than them having to be in control, they can just enjoy a two-hour concert where someone else is doing all the work for them.”

Paul upped the score by synchronizing lights, game play footage, illustrations and behind-the-scenes footage and effects to the live performance.

Heroes will be accompanied by a massive orchestra made up of area professionals, and the choir – from the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay.

Games featured include Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, Starfield, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, God of War, Mass Effect, Final Fantasy, Journey, Portal 2 and The Last of Us.

Gamers have a cool time at these shows, of course, but according to the producer previous knowledge of the games is not required. “You can close your eyes and not even have to watch the screen,” he believes. “This music is breathtaking. Theses composers are in the vein of John Williams and some of the other masters of filmmaking music. These guys are top-notch, fully. They’re amazing.”

Under his JMP Entertainment banner, Paul first brought Final Fantasy concerts to American audiences in 2004. There are now, inevitably, numerous touring companies putting orchestras and video game music together.

Heroes is a different beast, Paul insists. “I had been doing these concerts, whether it was a singular property like Final Fantasy, or a singular property like The Legend of Zelda. With Heroes, I borrowed from some of the writings of Joseph Campbell, in particular The Hero’s Journey.”

Campbell’s basic narrative is this: A hero sets out, has numerous adventures that transform him (or her), and returns home.

“I took that framework and created 17 chapters on this journey – the heroes of our story are your favorite video game characters. For each chapter, I carefully selected each video game that suits that particular chapter in our story.”

Nigel Carrington, the voice of the game Dear Esther, provides the narration.

Most video game manufacturers, says Paul, are fully behind the concert phenomenon.

“The companies that are thriving are the companies that see it’s a great way to reach their audience through something like this, where it’s actually a live show.

“There’s a lot of interactivity that can take place, and it’s a great way to provide something for these fans out from behind their television sets or monitors.”

Find tickets for Heroes: A Video Game Symphony here.