By Melanie Sosa
It’s no surprise that there are some very talented and passionate people within the UCI community. I had the incredible opportunity to talk to one of these people.
Gabe Nunag is the director and founder of the Euphonic Video Game Ensemble, a club which specializes in recreating the music from our favorite films and videogames. After speaking with him a few weeks ago about their Ghibli Concert Collab, I knew I had to see EVGE for myself.
The Ghibli Concert Review
When I first arrived at the Ghibli Concert, I was running a little late and hoped that I hadn’t missed anything. I was surprised by the amount of people who were there. In the Pacific Ballroom C in the Student Center, all the seats were full and many were grouped in the back. Although I was surprised at first, I was excited to see such a large audience.
The first song played was “One Summer’s Day,” from “Spirited Away.” As the ensemble played, a projection showed a video alongside their performance. The video portion, animated by @the85thLetter, showed the main heroine, Chihiro, standing in a vast array of water with a piece of land and house in the distance. This was most likely inspired by the train sequence from the movie.
Next was “My Neighbor Totoro.” The animated loop featured the creatures from the woods playing instruments, with Totoro in the middle playing a cello, while his friends played a flute and a little trumpet. It’s a very cute piece and an adorable homage to the musician. This loop was animated by @pug.art.tatoes & @honkfronk7 on Instagram.
The following song was “The Wind Rises.” The animation featured a silhouette of the main character Jiro Horikoshi looking up at the sky and the wind ruffling his hair. The animated loop projected is simple, yet it perfectly suited the music. You can find the animator @err5_08 on Instagram.
The fourth song featured in the concert was “The Girl Who Fell from the Sky” from the film “Castle in the Sky.” This piece is Gabe’s favorite. The animated loop is wonderfully done. The two main protagonists from the film are sitting on a grassy landscape, overlooking the castle in the sky, with big clouds softly billowing away. This was animated by @sheerenwu and @pug.art.tatoes.
Finally, the last song featured was from Howl’s Moving Castle, “The Merry-Go-Round of Life.” As the animation appeared on the screen, the crowd let out an audible gasp; this was what they had been waiting for. A very endearing and adorable piece of art, shows Howl, partly transformed as a bird monster, gazing fondly at Sophie and Sophie looking back at him in awe. This loop was animated by artist @wumbyu_.
In between the songs, Gabe introduced each piece and the film it came from, giving a nod to Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi. Some animators, including the club director Bill Chen, also spoke about their animation process.
The Ghibli concert was a very wholesome experience. So many came to participate and both the animators and the ensemble all exhibit a passion for their craft and an admiration for the Ghibli world and its music.
The EVGE Winter Concert Review
(Found on @evge.at.uci Instragram page. Art credits: @pikadrawsstuff , @klownkie , & Sunny. Hansori photo credit: Steve Zylius.)
Just a few weeks after the Ghibli collaboration concert, I attended EVGE’s Winter concert. Once again, I was surprised with the amount of people who attended the concert. Although it was in a larger room than the previous concert, specifically Emerald Bay in UCI’s Student Center, the room was still full of people.
Many students had dressed for the occasion. Some students dressed in cosplay, with one wearing Link’s tunic from "Breath of the Wild,” and another dressed up as the protagonist from “Persona 4.” Many others, including the conductor Gabe, wore accessories or memorabilia, such as Mario and Luigi hats.
Like the Ghibli Concert, Nunag took breaks in between pieces to share their history, give credit to the original composers and to show his appreciation for each game the piece is from. The crowd whooped and cheered for the mention of their favorite games.
To start, the ensemble played “Nintendo All-Stars'' from “Super Smash Bros. Melee.” It was a fitting piece, as “Super Smash Bros.” has a recognizable and epic sound, and “Super Smash Bros.,” like EVGE concerts, is also a celebration of many video games.
The next song was“Fountain of Dreams,” the “Super Smash Bros.” rendition from “Kirby.” Following the Nintendo theme, the next piece was “Gusty Garden Galaxy” from “Super Mario Galaxy.” Both pieces were light-hearted and whimsical. Their composition was meant to inspire joy in the players as they play in a colorful and fantastical world.
Taking a more somber, elegant route was their next piece: “Unova: Route 10” from “Pokemon Black & White.” Also beautifully resonant, this rendition is both refined while also utilizing more homely sounds, especially with their use of an accordion.
Next was with their arrangement of “Between Heaven and Earth” from “Fire Emblem: Three Houses.” This is where the concert’s intensity increased. With such a powerful sound out of the gate, I was honestly stunned. Many fans of the series were present within the crowd that night, and I think both they and the game were done justice. The drums and the brass section added ramping tension that built up to a triumphant score.
Continuing with another piece from the “Fire Emblem” franchise, which combined “Don’t Speak Her Name!” and “Id (Purpose)” from “Fire Emblem Awakening.” Although they are not as blood-rushing as “Between Heaven and Earth,” it still holds triumphant notes, emphasizing a solemn tone and a slow, touching nature. While I haven’t played any of the series’s games, it was still just as moving to hear for the first time.
After a fifteen minute intermission, the ensemble played some pieces from their Ghibli concert, with “The Girl Who Fell From the Sky” from “Castle in the Sky,” and “Merry-Go-Round of Life” from “Howl’s Moving Castle” making a return.
Then came some compositions from the “Xenoblade Chronicles” franchise. The ensemble played their renditions of “A Friend of My Mind” from “Xenoblade Chronicles,” and “Carrying the Weight of Life” from “Xenoblade Chronicles 3.” “A Friend of My Mind,” arranged by ChooeyMusic, was played by a violin quartet.
Finally, the concert ended with two pieces taken from “The Legend of Zelda” franchise. The Zelda games are iconic on their own and many of the themes are instantly recognizable. The first of the two was “Hyrule Historia: Overworld Medley.”
Taken from the Nintendo Switch presentation rather than the actual game, the last piece played was the “The Breath of the Wild 2017 Story Trailer” music. Along with the music, there was the added challenge of the ensemble keeping in time with the trailer footage that played behind them.
As a fan of “Breath of the Wild,” it was an amazing experience to hear EVGE’s rendition of the trailer, along with seeing the trailer on screen. They did such a great job with it, especially since playing alongside the trailer was a last minute decision. As Nunag told me in a later interview, “Leo, my tenor sax player, said ‘We should play this along with the trailer.’ We ran it maybe three times at the dress rehearsal and then we were like, ‘You know what? We’ll try to pull it off at the end of the concert.” I think it paid off and I hope to see more pieces like this in the future.
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