Press Start's mission is to build a new audience for the symphony orchestra by making meaningful authentic connections with the gaming community. We strive to highlight the value and variety that video game music has to offer in hopes of elevating the genre to the orchestral canon. In this effort, Press Start will focus its resources to support local musicians, practice equitable programming, and work towards relevancy for classical music at large. Above all else, we will bring together VGM themes beloved by gamers and treasured symphonic classics under the same roof. 

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Press Start is an orchestra formed out of necessity for wider variety in the symphonic repertoire and relevancy to modern concert goers. Wielding an instrument in one hand and a gaming controller in the other, we promote video game music as the symphonic music of our time while injecting the classical genre with excitement and originality. 

Press Start is passionate about sharing it's projects to the masses in both live and digital formats. We are actively building our community on all social channels, Live-stream concerts on YouTube and Twitch, and will perform live shows when it is possible again. Press Start is committed to seeking opportunities to form unique partnerships with video game composers, arcades, and the gaming community at large. These partnerships are important to genuinely bringing these two worlds together. 

Although based in New York City, the members of Press Start are highly trained musicians from all over the world and have an undeniable love of video games and its culture.  We recognize that bringing together video gamers and symphony goers may seem like an unlikely pairing, but through every project we produce we demonstrate that the music gamers celebrate has the kind of beauty and symphonic quality classical music fans have cherished for centuries. This is why we believe the time for bringing these worlds together is now and Press Start will be leading the charge.

Press Start Orchestra

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