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Heroes & Legends of Gaming Music

Heroes & Legends of Gaming Music

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Legends & Mysteries: Video-Game Music Live

 

In February 2025, GLCO presented the fourth installment of our annual Legends & Mysteries educational series, created especially for schools in our region that do not have string or orchestral programs.

This year’s program, Legends of Zelda: Video-Game Music Live, introduced students to orchestral music through the familiar world of video games. Many students already recognize the orchestral soundtracks of games like The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros., making video-game music a natural and welcoming entry point to classical music. By meeting students where they are, the program used a medium they already enjoy to introduce a genre they might otherwise find intimidating.

Presented in partnership with the Harbor Springs School District and local composer Tony Manfredonia, the project reached more than 500 students in person and an additional 1,500 students in classrooms through a video recording and accompanying interactive educational curriculum developed specifically for this program.

Featuring live orchestral performances of familiar music, the concert helped students recognize classical music in everyday media, making it more accessible, engaging, and relevant, while filling a critical gap in string music education across northern Michigan.
Curriculum

VERN CAMPBELL

Co-Principal Trumpet

Vern is Co-Principal Trumpet in the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra (GLCO).  Vern studied trumpet with Dr. Dennis Horton, trumpet professor at Central Michigan University while in high school and later as a university student.  Before obtaining his doctorate degree at Michigan State University and completing a medical residency in ophthalmology, Vern performed two years with the Blue Water International Symphony.  Vern relocated to Petoskey in 2000 and continued his trumpet studies with Scott Thornburg, professor of trumpet at Western Michigan University. He joined the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra in 2012 and eagerly anticipates each performance. He especially enjoys playing with the orchestra’s brass quintet. Vern enjoys visiting his wife’s family and friends in Shanghai and traveling throughout China. He is an avid cyclist and skier.

Eric Lawson

Assistant Concertmaster

Violinist, violist, conductor and professor Dr. Eric Lawson has had a varied career in performance and education. Past performances as a conductor, soloist and lecturer have taken him to Austria, Brazil, China, Germany, Romania and Scandinavia. Before returning to his home state of Michigan, he was based in North Dakota where, in addition to serving as a violin instructor at Bismarck State College, Jamestown College, and the University of Mary, he was also concertmaster of the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra and established the Bismarck-Mandan Youth Symphony. Other former academic appointments have included Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Central College in Pella, Iowa and the University of North Dakota where he founded the string program and the UND Chamber Orchestra.

Here in Michigan, Dr. Lawson as been very active with the Alpena Symphony Orchestra as its concertmaster, conductor and president of the board. He also performs with many other orchestras in Northern Michigan and participates in the Traverse Symphony as a first violinist, in the Gaylord Symphony as concertmaster and as assistant concertmaster in the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra.

And finally, in what has been one of the most important experiences of his life outside of music, he also served almost four years as an Alpena County Commissioner, representing Ossineke and Sanborn Townships. In addition to serving as chair of the Salary and Personnel Committee, he also served on the Airport, Ambulance, District Court, Circuit Court Management and Jail Committees. He also represented Alpena County in Gaylord with the Northern Michigan Regional Entity Substance Use Disorder Board and continues to serve on the Northeast Michigan Community Mental Health Board. Dr. Lawson resides in Ossineke with his wife and two children.