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Composer Dren McDonald pays homage to Galaga, The Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog and other fondly remembered classics in The String Arcade, an upcoming album featuring a selection of game music that has been rearranged for string quartet. The String Arcade was funded by an impressive Kickstarter campaign. It includes 15 original arrangements of classic gaming themes that were performed and supported by Bay Area musicians and Boston's Videri String Quartet. Deep space exploration The games included in the collection include Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin, Monkey Island 2, FTL: Faster Than Light and Minecraft. You can download and stream a demo track from PopCap's Plants vs. Deep Space Zombies here. The String Arcade will be released on February 11. The digital album can be pre-ordered through iTunes for $7.99 and a limited-edition CD with two bonus tracks is available for $9.99. [Photo credit: Lorrie Murray] The String Arcade is a recreation of the original video game music, now available for preorder Release of String Quartet Album on February 11, all proceeds to Alameda Music Project After-School Program ALAMEDA (Calif.) - January 28 the 28th of January, 2014. Dren McDonald, a Bay Area composer, launched an impressive Kickstarter campaign for The String Arcade. The recording of video game music was recreated for string quartet. The final recording was distributed to backers in August and is now available for preorder by the general public through BandCamp and iTunes (see below for the links). The String Arcade will officially release February 11 for digital downloads and CD. About The String Arcade -- http://www.thestringarcade.com The String Arcade is a carefully selected collection of music that Dren McDonald (Ghost Recon Commander Ravenwood Fair, Ravenwood Fair) composed for string quartet. The arrangements go well beyond chamber music emulations of the themes that inspired them, with each piece creatively altered, embellished, and reimagined to capture emotions generated by the games. McDonald's was inspired in the creation of the project by John Lurie's Stranger Than Paradise (1984) soundtrack that featured a dark string quartet score. The String Arcade will give gamers the chance to enjoy new classics. It is also a great way to inspire young musicians to acquire a violin, cello, or the viola. Several tracks were specifically chosen from games popular among kids, and all album proceeds will be donated to the Alameda Music Project (http://www.alamedamusicproject.org), a tuition-free K-5 after-school program launching in September. About The Music The String Arcade's original 15 arrangements (plus 2 CD bonus tracks) were inspired by games from Galaga to Minecraft and performed by local musicians, with an appearance by the Boston-based Videri String Quartet. One preview track, Plants Vs. Zombies' "Grasswalk," has been released as a free digital download: https://soundcloud.com/dren-mcdonald/plants-vs-zombies-from-the The String Arcade spans a few decades in video game history, ranging from stand-up arcade classics (Galaga, TRON), through the 16-bit and 8-bit eras (Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin) and the golden age of 1990s adventure (Monkey Island 2, Outlaws), to more recent popular games (Portal 2, Minecraft), indie favourites (FTL - Faster Than Light, Scurvy Scallywags), and games that are mobile and social (graBLOX, Pettington Park, Ravenshire Castle). For a full track list, visit http://www.thestringarcade.com/#!about/c10fk. Preorder Details Until the album's February 11 release, The String Arcade digital download can be preordered from iTunes for $7.99, a 20% savings over the normal $9.99 price: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-string-arcade/id805763356 The CD version, which includes two bonus tracks not included with the digital download, can be preordered from BandCamp for $9.99 (regularly $11.99): http://thestringarcade.bandcamp.com Classic game themes are upgraded in the album of string quartets The String Arcade