Top Score

Some of the scores for video games are incredibly intricate and deserve recognition, which is why we've created Top Score: a series of podcasts dedicated to the music that accompanies soldiers through battle, sorcerers through forests and aliens through space.

Top Score: SonicPicnic and Awesomenauts

The soundtrack for the game 'Awesomenauts' sounds like an alien radio station. The music was created by a group of composers who call themselves SonicPicnic.

08-20
23:31

Composer Ryan Ike got his career started at 'Gunpoint'

Composer Ryan Ike got his first big break in video-game composition by answering an open call for composers on Twitter for a game called 'Gunpoint'. He got the job -- and a BAFTA nomination. Hear more about Ryan Ike on this week's episode of Top Score.

08-13
21:42

Serious music for a casual game

Millions of people around the world play the 'casual' game Candy Crush Soda Saga, but composer Johan Holmstrom took the music very seriously, even recruiting the London Symphony Orchestra for the recording session. Holmstrom is Emily Reese's guest on this week's Top Score.

08-06
14:31

A musicologist's look at 'Final Fantasy VI'

Ryan Thompson is a PhD candidate in musicology at the University of Minnesota, with a special interest in ludomusicology. What is that, you ask? Ludomusicology is a growing field in which musicologists study the impact of music in video games.

07-30
19:59

Tom Salta's bold choice for subtle music

The new game 'Spartan Strike' exists in an audio-dominant world. To make sure he could still capture a player's attention, composer Tom Salta decided to record quieter, more subtle cues. He also enlisted the help of the New York Film Chorale and the Macedonian Radio Symphonic Orchestra. Hear more about it on this week's episode of Top Score.

07-23
19:50

Top Score says, 'Thank You, Pierce'

Top Score says "thank you" to production assistant Pierce Huxtable for one year of great work. Pierce's position was funded by a (non-renewable) grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, an award for which Top Score is forever grateful.

07-22
13:01

What's old-school is new again for Michael Schiciano

Michael Schiciano joins Emily Reese on this week's Top Score to talk about old-school and modern approaches to composing. Thanks to the burgeoning mobile market, many composers use old-school techniques to create music for smartphone games.

07-16
19:39

Do a Barrel Roll create innovative covers of game music

The orchestral-rock video game cover band Do a Barrel Roll stopped by Classical MPR to record a set and to chat with Emily Reese, host of Top Score. 'They played a set and stole my heart -- I've always wanted to say that,' Emily says. Listen to the full session.

07-15
21:30

Sam Dillard is a one-man music-making machine

Completely self taught, Sam Dillard not only composes music, but he also performs and records his work. Recently hired by Kinect for its new Harry Potter trailer, Dillard joins Emily Reese on this week's episode of Top Score.

07-09
20:41

Chris Huelsbeck's career leaps to next stage

The enduring success of composer Chris Huelsbeck's early works has created a fan following in his native Germany and across the world. His work inspired a 2008 concert series, and more recently, he's crowd-funded a new album of piano works. Learn more about Chris Huelsbeck on this week's Top Score.

07-02
15:48

John Robert Matz composes for concert band and video games

Chicago-based composer John Robert Matz isn't strictly a video-game music creator. He also writes for concert band. On this week's Top Score, Matz talks about these different works and their distinct styles. He also shares some 'sneak peaks' into tracks from the upcoming 'Fossil Echo.'

06-25
15:04

Leslie Ann Jones is a Jedi of sound engineers

The director of music recording and scoring at Skywalker Sound, Leslie Ann Jones oversees all sound production in the facilities massive scoring stage. Jones has worked on films, television and video games, and has three Grammys to boot, which she simply calls 'pretty cool'. Hear more about Jones's amazing career on this week's Top Score.

06-18
15:28

Triforce Quartet: from one recital to working ensemble

What started out as a one-gig quartet for Chad Schwartz's senior recital has grown into a touring, viable music group. All four members of Triforce Quartet are classically trained musicians and avid gamers. Schwartz talks to Top Score host Emily Reese about the chamber-music group.

06-11
17:49

Scoring Helsinki and 'The Legend of Grimrock II'

From a small studio in Finland, the men of Scoring Helsinki have created a big sound for the dungeon-crawling game, 'The Legend of Grimrock II'. Hear all about it on this week's episode of Top Score.

06-04
22:11

Top Score: Composer Paul Ruskay

On this week's Top Score, Emily Reese talks with composer Paul Ruskay, who created the soundtrack for 'Homeworld Remastered'. He explains how he brought the soundtrack back to life from its original version, composed 15 years ago.

05-28
24:29

San Francisco Conservatory of Music stretches bounds

On a recent trip to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Emily stopped by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music to learn more about the new Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) program. Learn about and hear performances from the SFCM on this week's Top Score.

05-21
21:09

Composing music in full color

Composer Daniel Sadowski possesses that rare ability to see music in color, so when he was asked to compose music for the vivid game 'Stormthrone', it was a dream come true. Daniel Sadowski is Emily Reese's guest on this week's Top Score.

05-14
16:15

missingNo's jazzy video-game arrangements

Seven-piece jazz ensemble missingNo arrange video game music into complex, catchy jazz and funk-infused pieces. They are Emily Reese's guests on this week's Top Score.

05-07
19:42

Penka Kouneva and a composer's 'authentic voice'

Do men and women compose differently? Is there such thing as 'masculine' or 'feminine' music? Is defining music that way inherently sexist? This week's episode of Top Score asks some tough questions with composer Penka Kouneva.

04-30
17:11

Top Score: Brutal honesty brings success on 'Massive Chalice'

Composing duo Brian Trifon and Brian Lee White (aka Finishing Move) met with Top Score host Emily Reese to discuss the game Massive Chalice and the challenges it posed to them. They also share pointers for other collaborative composers.

04-23
19:28

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