London Soundtrack Festival celebrates gaming music

The inaugural London Soundtrack Festival (LSF) is set to present State of the Art: Games Music, a day of masterclasses, panels and signings celebrating video games music. The day, hosted at The Roundhouse on 23 March, will culminate in a sold-out concert performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, featuring popular game soundtracks introduced by the composers themselves.

The day will feature appearances from composers including Borislav Slavov, the BAFTA award-winning composer behind Baldur’s Gate 3, Stephen Barton, who presents music from Star Wars Jedi Survivor and Grammy Award-winning composer Gordy Haab, who introduces a world premiere performance of his soundtrack for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Stephanie Economou will present her Grammy award-winning score for Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla - Dawn of Ragnarök, while Harry Gregson-Williams introduces music from Metal Gear Solid, Hildur Guðnadóttir talks about her work on Battlefield 2042, and Ludvig Forssell explores his work on Death Stranding.

Festival founder and artistic director Tommy Pearson said: ‘It’s really exciting to be bringing this brand-new festival to London – the film, TV and games music capital of the world – and to celebrate the greatest composers working today who create the soundtrack to our lives. For me, it’s the culmination of a lifetime’s love of film and TV music; a chance to give audiences young and old (and everyone in between!) world-class performances, fascinating masterclasses, screenings and events for many years to come.’

Earlier in the day, the festival presents a composer panel event with all the composers featured in the concert moderated by worldwide executive and president of Music for Electronic Arts, Steve Schnur. The day-long event will also feature masterclasses from Gordy Haab, Stephanie Economou and Stephen Barton, who presents a masterclass featuring special guests, live demonstrations and unreleased music.

The evening concert will also feature performances from guest singers Andrew Wincott and Mariya Anastasova who both feature on the Baldur’s Gate 3 soundtrack.

Founded by concert producer, broadcaster and musician Tommy Pearson, the London Soundtrack Festival is inspired by the life and music of composer Christopher Gunning. Presented in association with BFI, the festival reflects the huge popularity of music for film, TV and games and it’s potential as a gateway for new audiences to explore orchestral music.