What we’re about
Play an orchestral instrument? Love video game music? This is the community orchestra for you!
Press Start is NYC's community video game cover orchestra. The musicians are gamers from all over the city playing cherished music from their favorite games for an audience of gamers and musicians alike! We're proud to be part of the Gamer Symphony Orchestra (GSO) tradition established by ensembles such as the University of Maryland GSO, Washington-Metro GSO, Baltimore GSO, and the New Jersey GSO.
We were formed in 2020 as a professional orchestra championing the artistic value of video game music (VGM) in the classical music industry. Our first projects were music videos combining traditions of gaming and chamber music, followed by live concerts programming VGM with classical favorites. The concerts combined the themes and pieces of composers like Austin Wintory, Samuel Barber, Edward Grieg, and Lena Raine all on the same program. The first season was recently named a finalist for The American Prize in Orchestral Programming—Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award.
The orchestra has now opened up it's membership to all New Yorkers who wield a controller in one hand and an instrument in another! We're thrilled to enter our 2024-25 season with our first concerts as a community orchestra.
