Today we are talking to a special guest: Amy Anderson, a multi-talented lady who is currently the conductor of the Zelda: Symphony of the Goddessess orchestra. Miss Anderson, thank you for having this interview with us. How do you do?

I am fine and very pleased and honored to do this interview with you! Thank you for the opportunity! I’m glad to hear that. I went to the concert in Brussels with a group of friends who are also avid Zelda fans and we tremendously enjoyed the experience. Are you proud of the tour so far, and how has the response been?

Firstly, I am very happy to hear that you and your friends enjoyed the concert. That is excellent! I am very proud of the tour and the response thus far has been incredible. The fans have been very enthusiastic and their responses during the concert inspire and invigorate the orchestra. We have so much fun up there with the Zelda audiences! Before this tour, were you a Legend of Zelda fan? I have been familiar with the Zelda games for many years, as my two boys grew up playing The Legend of Zelda. I only became acquainted with the symphonic score, however, much later. I have listened to the original music, and I am amazed at how the orchestrators fleshed out the original music and brought it to full fruition. It is so beautiful! It was quite beautiful, that’s something we can attest to. What made you choose to conduct this iconic series? And since your sons love the series as well, how have they reacted to you being the conductor for this tour? I conducted a few performances of rePLAY – Symphony of Heroes in 2014, which was another concert tour from our producer. It is through this work that I was asked to become Music Director for the current world tour of Zelda. As for my kids, they think that their mom is a rock star!

I couldn’t have put it better. By the way, have you had a part in developing the symphonic score?

I did not play any role in developing the symphonic score. Our producer hires orchestrators who arrange the symphonic score. I see. Miss Anderson, what I found one of the most impressive parts of the performance, was how in sync with the projected video the orchestra was. Is it difficult to perform this way? Select members of the orchestra, as well as I, have a click monitor in our earpieces. This ensures that the orchestra musicians play exactly in sync with the video images. Being in sync with the images is not really difficult with the click monitors that we use. What is difficult is trying to play expressively and musically while listening to the click. Playing with a click can result in a very mechanical and sterile performance, if one is not careful. So I try to round the edges of each measure, and give the phrases a long, beautiful line. Sculpting the harmonic arrival points also make it sound spontaneous, as if we were not playing with a click track.

That sounds like quite the challenge indeed. Have you added your own colors to the performances? If so, why and what parts did you change?

I do not change the notes in the score and thus honor what the composers and arrangers have written. But I do in fact add color to the symphonic sound that the orchestra produces. By color I mean the type of sound that I cultivate from the orchestra. I am constantly adapting my conducting technique to add fullness to the string sound, or brass sound, for instance. I conduct each orchestra in a different way according to their technical and rhythmic proficiencies. My goal is always to produce a rich, symphonic sound rather than a choppy and harsh sound, which often happens when conductors work with a click track. All the more a challenge. Now that you mention the orchestra, Is the composition the same as the one you started with or have you switched members in some countries so far?

We generally perform with a different orchestra in each town. However, on this current European tour of eight cities we have used one orchestra for five of those concerts. It really makes sense travel-wise, and it lessens the stress of working with five new orchestras five days in a row! I believe you! Of all the parts of the symphony of the Goddesses, of what game do you like the music the most and why?

I love the songs and orchestrations of Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess probably the most because of the great variations in color, emotion and musical expression. There is a part in the Twilight Princess where I start to cry every time. It goes straight to my heart and I fight back my tears. I thought after forty or more performances it would not happen, but it still does! I had a hard time keeping it dry at a certain moment as well. That said, music has been a profound element in the Legend of Zelda games, in some even being a major plot point due to music having an fundamental effect on the characters. One of the best examples is the Song of Healing from Majora’s Mask, with which you help dying souls pass into the next realm while at the same time receiving a transforming mask filled with their spirit.

Do you feel the scores manage to reflect the different moods and themes of the games and if so, can you please spare a few examples? The Song of Healing is one of my favorite songs and yes, the score definitely reflects the moods and themes. The use of the delicate flute, harps and piano give the Song of Healing a tender and transparent quality and reflects the emotions of the heart. The composers and orchestrators use instruments that have been traditionally linked to certain emotions. For instance, Link plays the Ocarina, which was drawn from Tamino playing the flute in the Mozart opera The Magic Flute. Harps have been associated with certain spiritual qualities since the time of the ancient Greeks, and using them in particular places in Zelda allow them to work their emotional magic on us. The music of Ganondorf is expressed in Zelda by the use of heavy full brass, percussion and an almost violent and unpredictable compositional style. I often get goosebumps when I hear his theme. It is very creepy music! I think I just heard some loud cheers from the Ganondorf fans! Actually, In what way does the Zelda music differ from classical scores?

Traditionally, classical symphonic music stayed within a stylistic and historical framework. Those days are gone. Now current symphonic music borrows from many styles and traditions. There really are no rules anymore and composers are free to use whatever language best expresses their ideas. Zelda reflects this contemporary wisdom and one can hear in the music the mixture of different styles, harmonies and traditions. It is simply marvelous!

Do you think performances of symphonic game music could have a positive effect on classical orchestras in terms of financial revenue? Myself, I think it would open a lot of opportunities for performing musicians, next to the more classical performances. Also, what stance do composers in general take towards performing game music?

The idea that certain genres of music are intrinsically better or more valuable than others is rapidly disappearing. When Yo Yo Ma started his Silk Road project many years ago, people thought he was selling out or at least crazy. What he was and is, is a visionary. He knew instinctively that beautiful music is beautiful music. Period. We are an interconnected world and it is all about sharing and cross-pollination. We as a planet are pollinating culturally, humanly, ethnically, musically and gastronomically at a faster rate than ever before in human history.

Finally orchestras are realizing that excluding certain musical genres, such as video game music from concert halls, is not only foolish economically, but will eventually estrange them from younger, future audiences. For orchestras it is either evolve or become extinct. The symphonic music world is changing fast, and gamers are leading the revolution. Conventional wisdom is crumbling away and Phoenix is rising from the ashes.

There is a beautiful generation of established, video game composers, as well as a new crop of young video game composers and they are doing wonderful work in this field. Composers live off of commissions, and it is tough to make a living in composition. All composers know that and I imagine that most composers should be happy to receive a commission for a video game project! We have our fingers crossed for these young talents. Miss Anderson, music scores in games have greatly improved through time, with famous composers like Austin Wintory writing the soundtrack for the short emotional game Journey, for example. What do you think of this evolution?

I think it is spectacular! Video game music is an art form, very similar to film music. It is a very exciting time to witness this evolution and be a part of this great revolution. I think you have an enviable position. Are there other – perhaps gaming – scores you might be interested in performing?

I love Final Fantasy, Elder Scrolls, Halo and many others. I would definitely like to conduct those scores! A shoutout to Square-Enix, Bethesda en Bungie from the lovely lady here! Finally, what are your future projects after this tour?

Thank goodness we have some time off going into 2016! My future plans include touring with Zelda in 2016, but also focusing on my career as a jazz singer. I am eager to get back into the studio in New York and do some arranging, composing, singing and performing. We wish you the best and would like to let you know that you have really moved us, along with the excellent musicians! It was an amazing performance!