Mariela Patron
News Editor
Emmanuel Lagumbay, senior music major, brought the audience to its feet with three of his original music compositions inspired by the game “League of Legends,” Friday at Morgan Auditorium.
From “Tetris” to “Skyrim,” the concert, part of Lagumbay’s senior project, paid homage to video games from start to finish with help of The Lordsburg Brothers and the University of La Verne Chamber Singers and Orchestra.
Conducted by Lagumbay, the ULV Chamber Singers and Orchestra captivated gamers and non-gamers alike with dramatic performances and lighting.
Lagumbay referred to gaming as the new age and kept this theme throughout the concert by leading the singers and orchestra into a performance of “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons at the beginning and end of his presentation.
“You have people playing with each other from across the world, and that inspires me, that we’re all connected in a way through gaming.” Lagumbay said. “Since technology has developed and since we’re all able to connect a lot more, it’s the new age.”
Lagumbay said his original compositions derived from characters and story lines from the multiplayer battle arena game, “League of Legends.”
“The composers that compose the game music are the kind of people that move me to do it (compose),” Lagumbay said
He explained the characters and story lines before starting a song. Lagumbay said “Leona, the Radiant Dawn,” based on the character of the same name, represents the sun.
During the performance, the lighting on the stage turned different shades of red.
“People think of her as the sun champion – she’s the sun. So as it builds and builds, she gets brighter and the orchestra gets louder before a very triumphant climax where they’re all just playing loud and all playing strong to represent the brightest part of the day,” Lagumbay said.
For “Diana’s Prayer,” Lagumbay said he tried to capture certain themes that represent the character, Diana, like the moon.
As the song progressed, the song intensified and became darker. The choir sang an eerie melody that echoed throughout the auditorium.
Lagumbay also co-wrote the lyrics. The choir sang, “Cruel moon, whose light shines so bright, share your strength and darkest might.”
The last song, “To Summoner’s Rift,” a tribute to season four of League of Legends, granted Lagumbay a standing ovation after a speedy, dramatic finish.
“It was great to see it come together,” Reed Gratz, professor of music, said. “You don’t see this type of turnout for a senior project.”
In addition to Lagumbay’s original “League of Legends” compositions, he arranged music for the chamber singers and orchestra from the games, “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,” “World of Warcraft” and “Guild Wars.” In the song “Dragonborn,” from “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,” the chamber singers sang in the game’s dragon language. The song felt like a battle song immediately as the singers harmonized together in a chant.
“Dragon language was ridiculous. It was so hard to pronounce,” Dia Romero, senior international business major and chamber singer, said. It took two months to perfect the dragon language, Romero said.
“It’s very different. We’re used to gospel and Emmanuel came in and took the reigns,” Romero said.
The Lordsburg Brothers, a barbershop quartet, also brought lighthearted comedy to the night with Retro Game Medley — a compilation of music from classic video games. The medley, also arranged by Lagumbay, included music from Tetris, Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda, which brought the crowd to cheers.
The Lordsburg Brothers ended their performance with “God Only Knows” by The Beach Boys and an emotional rendition of “When She Loved Me” from “Toy Story 2.”
Mariela Patron can be reached at mariela.patron@laverne.edu.
