Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw orchestra has joined forces with online gaming giant Roblox to launch a new game for children which, officials hope, will encourage more kids to learn to love classical music.
“Our research showed that while children enjoy classical music, they do not necessarily want to attend long concerts,” says Dominik Winterling, managing director of the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Current projects such as the Commander-n00b concerts and various educational apps have paved the way, “but we need to do more if we are to achieve our mission of sharing symphonic music with the widest possible audience,” he said.
The orchestra decided to meet youngsters in their online universe where, he said, they can discover that “classical music with friends is funny, exciting, adventurous and not just a lesson to follow”.
Accenture Song, one of the world’s largest tech-powered creative groups, and the Elja Foundation, a Dutch philanthropic organisation specialising in the creation of new art for young people, came on board.
“We brought together sixty teenagers, and started by asking the difficult question: Do you actually like classical music?,” said the foundation’s Carlijn Woudstra.
The youngsters were involved in all aspects of the design and testing process, helping to create storyboards and avatars from scratch.
Their “brutal honesty”, combined with AI bringing their imaginative ideas to life, speeded up the whole process, said creative technologist, Zeno Koenings. “Seven concepts soon became two, and the worlds of Harmony Farms and Fortissimo came into being. A further destination, Mt. Misty is on its way.”
Classical music and sound effects created by the orchestra’s musicians help set the scene. Music by Surinamese composer, Helstone, features alongside works by Wagner, Debussy, Beethoven, Bartók and Ravel, all recorded in the Concertgebouw. A new commission from Dutch pianist Thomas Beijer channelling a 1920s trad jazz vibe also features on the soundscape.
Pop-ups and mini-games full of fun facts about music, the instruments and composers, add an extra dimension.
Roblox games such as Prison Escape, Shark Attack and Adopt Me! have helped the free, online gaming platform to reach an average of 85 million players a day, up 19% in the past year. Will Final Score join them?
“I really love it,” said Max, 10, who was involved in early trials. “As soon as I started playing, I was hooked. I can earn points to buy different instruments to help defeat the enemies. They all have superpowers like Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak. I can use them to block my enemies, to save the musicians, or to fire a beam of music taking me into a new world.”
