Running from March 27-28 at the OKC Civic Center, the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Symphonicon was an auditory treat of soundtracks from science fiction films, superhero movies and video games from the mid-20th century to the present day.
Alexander Mickelthwate, the music director and principal conductor of the Philharmonic, provided a varied selection of arrangements that offered a glimpse into contemporary orchestral composition. He was a delight to interview, and I was struck by his passion for all kinds of orchestral music.
“Preparation started one and a half years ago with getting the music together and finding the program,” Mickelthwate said. “Every musician gets their part at least a month in advance.”
Ensemble preparation and rehearsal time took place over two days from the 26th to the 27th before opening night. This concert is a part of the OKCPhil’s “Pops” concert series. Prep time for the OKCPhil’s “Pops” series isn’t as intensive as their “Classics” series, which happens over the course of several days.
“The harmonic progressions are pretty predictable,” Taylor Dawkins, double bass chair four, said regarding the Pops series music. “At least with the bass part, we’re playing a lot of repetitive stuff. Classical is a bit more involved.”
“With the Classics, those are major works,” Jay Wilkinson, second trumpet and OU jazz professor, said. “With the Pops, we have to jump in there and sight read this stuff. It has to be great right away.”
The musicians were confident in their abilities, which made for an excellent concert with beautiful renditions of pieces like “One-Winged Angel” from “Final Fantasy VII” and John Williams’s “Superman” theme.
“(The orchestra) can play,” Mickelthwate said. “It’s working with the balancing with the choir and making sure that they can be heard from their mics.”
The video game angle is new to the OKCPhil, however. The group has played movie soundtracks, but music from games is an unexplored territory for them.
“There’s a couple differences involved (with video game music),” Jamie Wind Whitmarsh, principal timpanist and UCO professor, said. “When you play it, people are seeing the experiences they have with that media…there’s a different level of musical content, like the music takes on a different role.”
Mickelthwate did a lot of research in preparation for this concert, including talking to his children, who were quite well-versed in video games. He found a few issues with gathering the video game music he needed, however.
“Many of those (pieces) don’t have publishers,” Mickelthwate said. “You cannot buy them online.”
He went to his friend Kit Wakeley, a Grammy award-winning composer, to arrange some of the pieces for the orchestra to play, such as the “Elden Ring” main theme and “One-Winged Angel” from “Final Fantasy VII.” As an audience member, I found the arrangements to be pretty spot-on when compared to the original tracks.
The orchestra’s performance on the 28th, which I attended, was packed and filled with energy. The night’s hosts, Charles J. Martin and Mike “Moog” Aguilar, interacted with the audience and gave out Literati Press Bookshop gift cards for answering trivia questions.
“We want audiences to jump in, scream, and yell,” Larry Moore, assistant principal bass, said. “It’s fun and makes us play better.”
In the Civic Center lobby, OU Esports & Co-Curricular Innovation held Mario Kart matches for tickets to the OKCPhil’s next concert. These efforts were led by Mario Kart players Michelle Cao, Jacob Hall and Jakobe Jeans, as well as Community Coordinator Jacob Ross, who handed out a number of tickets to victorious audience members.
The orchestra members also had a fun time learning and playing this music. It’s a very different scene and experience compared to classical music, which they play for their “Classics” series.
“The film stuff’s great,” Whitmarsh said. “Like, ‘Duel of the Fates’ is pretty crazy for the timpani.”
“I love classical music, but I’m also a big video game player myself,” Dr. Matthew Reynolds, fourth chair French Horn, said. “This was a perfect concert for me.”
“It is such a different experience listening to an orchestra when you’re on stage,” Charles J. Martin, founder of Literati Press and one of the concert’s hosts, said. “The sound is everywhere, and it stirs you.”
Martin had a great time hosting the first half of the concert, which consisted of pieces from sci-fi movies like “Interstellar” and “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
“Even though I’m in the back, you can still hear the giggles from the people who know what (Interstellar) is,” Martin said. “It really was one of my favorite moments.”
The nights’ hosts also left a big impression on the players. Much of their routine included improvisation with each other and Mickelthwate.
“We don’t really know what they’re going to do,” Dawkins said. “It’s also a surprise for us. We just show up and play, and then we get to see the interactions at the performance.”
Aguilar and Martin had a wonderful stage presence that kept me entertained between pieces, and their back-and-forth with Mickelthwate was fun to watch. Aguilar even brought ECCI’s Production Lead, Joshua Watson, up to talk about “Ghost of Tsushima” and “Elden Ring.”
“Both of them had such confidence and such charisma and were able to connect with the audience,” Wilkinson said.
Mickelthwate and members of the OKCPhil have expressed interest in doing more concerts like the Symphonicon in the future. This is the first time video game music has been featured in an OKCPhil concert, and their Pops series would be a perfect place to do another that exclusively plays video game soundtracks.
“There’s been this huge call for gamer music,” Wilkinson said. “It’s been around for a while, and I can’t imagine that our administration is not aware of that call. I think you could do a whole show on Nintendo.”
Wilkinson noted that video game music has a lot of appeal due to its diverse nature. Composers are able to explore soundscapes ranging from lush orchestras to rock and roll.
“I think a lot of these composers are already sort of starting to get in line for the history books,” Wilkinson said.
When Mickelthwate asked what I thought would be interesting to see in the future, I suggested he should do more concerts like these. There’s a huge market for live video game music.
Many soundtracks, such as “Final Fantasy VII” and “Super Mario Brothers” have become iconic. They deserve time in the spotlight so general audiences can experience new and incredible kinds of music.
“What I would like to try next time is for us to have some live element,” Mickelthwate said. “That there’s somebody writing a new piece from Oklahoma, and then they possibly play it live on stage with us.”
My experience with this concert was unforgettable, and I highly recommend that anyone with an interest in live music attend the OKCPhil’s future concerts, whether it be their Pops or Classics series.
I would like to thank fellow News Writer, Nora Reese, for helping get interviews from some of the OKCPhil players, as well as Charles J. Martin.
OU ECCI and the Crimson Collective Journal also extend their sincerest thanks to Kate Furney, an ECCI Alumnus, for helping our organizations get connected to the OKC Philharmonic for coverage of this incredible event.
If you want to see another of the OKCPhil’s concerts, they have two more planned for the end of the 2025-2026 season: “Disney in Concert” and “Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony.”
Image credits: Jesse Edgar Photography
