Wing Commander Music Orchestral Recording Project

[Fletcher]

For those who have played and love the Wing Commander series, there is an opportunity to relive your nostalgia in supreme audio quality. The music composer from the series, George Oldziey is looking for game music fans from around the world to help fund an orchestral recording of music from Wing Commander.

I've yet to actually sit down and complete the series, so looks like Good Old Games is going to satisfy that desire. Though I've listened to the music in bits and it is really good, and I expect there is a good following of Wing Commander in here since, well it's a distant inheritor to the Wing Commander style.

Here is the article link, then the kickstarter link, which at this time has already passed it's goal of $35,000 with 47 hours to go.

Article link

Kickstarter link

Reading the kickstarter page, looks like he wants $47,000 to get a full session with a full blown orchestra crew. I think he'll hit it.

Composer George Oldziey is seeking $35,000 to record a 9-and-a-half minute orchestral and choral suite based on the music of Wing Commander III and IV.

When it comes to space flight sims, Wing Commander is easily one of the genre's most legendary and groundbreaking franchises. Even so, time hasn't been kind to some facets of the series. Its music, for instance, was all digitized and recorded in low resolution MIDI files that aren't all that pleasing to the modern ear. That being the case, if one man has his way, it's a problem that will soon be rectified.

The man in question is George Oldziey. A composer who's worked primarily on films and video games, he was the musical mind behind the scores of both Wing Commander III and IV. While Oldziey's career has since seen him helming a variety of diverse musical projects, he's maintained an especial fondness for his Wing Commander music that inspired him to launch a Kickstarter aimed at recording a new orchestral and choral suite based on the scores of those games.

The suite, which is already composed, will be 9-and-a-half minutes long and combine pieces from both classic games. Oldziey's hope, in turn, is to raise $35,000 with which he'll be able to hire a full, 80 piece orchestra as well as a 40 voice choir. With 3 days left to go in his campaign he's managed to raise $32,000 of that goal.

It's no secret that I'm a big fan of Wing Commander. While the second game is easily my favorite of the series, I also have some fond memories of III and IV and would love to see this succeed. Granted, not everyone holds those titles in high regard, but even then it's hard to argue with a composer trying to preserve and reinvigorate his work.

Just think of it this way. Some projects on Kickstarter are clearly matters of business. This one strikes me as someone simply seeking the means to fulfill a long-lived dream. Put shortly, there are worse things you could contribute to.

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"Oh chuffing blimey, another day, another person being whiney!"
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