Phony

The Mansfield Symphony is staging a concert dedicated to video game music, performing orchestral arrangements of gaming soundtracks for its audience in Ohio. The programme highlights how game scores have grown into respected orchestral repertoire, drawing both classical concertgoers and gamers. Local coverage of the event has drawn attention to the orchestra's effort to reach new audiences through a genre rarely heard in traditional concert halls.

The Portland Mercury's latest music picks highlight a run of shows and releases, led by former black midi frontman Geordie Greep's performance at Revolution Hall, glitchy electronic work from Jane Remover, and cellist Abel Selacoe appearing with the Oregon Symphony. The roundup points to a busy stretch for experimental rock, electronic and classical crossover audiences in Portland.

The National Symphony Orchestra has opened its new season at the Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda, Maryland. The orchestra, based at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, regularly performs at Strathmore as part of its outreach across the Washington region. The season-opening concert marks the start of another year of programming for the ensemble, which is known for touring widely between its home venues.

The Spokane Symphony will perform a program of Americana music at Spokane's Fox Theater, featuring a newly co-commissioned piece alongside works from the genre. The concert highlights the orchestra's investment in new American music and its collaboration on an original composition. Local coverage notes the event as a notable cultural date for the region's classical music calendar.

The Woodlands Symphony is staging a concert titled Music of Grateful Dead and More at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, Texas. The program brings the Grateful Dead's songbook to an orchestral setting alongside other works. It is the kind of classical-meets-rock crossover event that tends to draw both symphony regulars and fans of the iconic jam band, generating local buzz in the community.

The Mansfield Symphony is running a program that gives students a chance to experience orchestral music through movement, going beyond simply sitting and listening. Details of how the sessions work and how many students are taking part were not immediately available, but the initiative highlights ongoing efforts by regional orchestras to bring live classical music to younger audiences in an engaging, participatory way.

The Minnesota Orchestra presents Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5, known as the Turkish Concerto, with violinist Stefan Jackiw as soloist this week, alongside Prokofiev's Symphony No. 6. The promotion highlights the music director's habit of stepping offstage mid-performance to check the hall's sound balance, a detail drawing amused attention as ticket sales continue.