Bend orchestra to perform video game music and TV themes
Published 9:30 am Monday, February 23, 2026
With pop, rock and hip-hop dominating the Billboard Hot 100, orchestral music is often viewed as a genre of the past. But at Bend Pops Orchestra, Conductor Eddy Robinson is aiming to bring more relevance to the music so it appeals to the next generation.
On Sunday, Central Oregon’s community orchestra presents “Screen Time!” at Caldera High School featuring video game music and themes from popular TV shows.
Video game music might cause some to pause, as it seems a strange genre for an orchestra to perform. Robinson said even the musicians were skeptical of the idea at first.
“A lot of people don’t know a ton of video game music, unless they’re an avid gamer,” he said. “I programmed this set and I got a lot of raised eyebrows.”
But as the orchestra rehearsed, Robinson noticed how his orchestra’s perception of video music changed.
While some may recall the plinky old 8-bit sound of Nintendo games from years past, modern video game music has evolved to resemble the sweeping, dramatic movie scores that immerse audiences in the storyline.
Grammy-award winning video game music
Robinson no longer has time to play video games. But he has often overheard his kids playing them, and the music he’s heard gave him the idea for “Screen Time!”
“It’s gorgeous writing. It’s great music, but nobody — unless you play video games — would ever hear it, and it is very rarely performed,” he said.
One of the soundtracks that will be performed on stage is “Baba Yetu,” the first piece of music written for a video game to win a Grammy, earning Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists in 2011. Another one of the video game soundtracks is from “Fallout 4,” an action game that was adapted into a TV series.
Half of the concert will be dedicated to nostalgic TV hits, including classics from “M*A*S*H,” “The Flintstones,” and “Star Trek Through the Years.”
‘No Ego Orchestra’
Robinson, an orchestra teacher at Mountain View High School and Sky View Middle School, said he takes an educational approach as the conductor of Bend Pops Orchestra. The group does not require auditions, offering a low-pressure environment to returning to practicing music or learning for the first time.
“Off the cuff one day, I nicknamed our group the ‘No Ego Orchestra’ because we’re there to support each other and not tear each other down and make it a comfortable, friendly and welcoming place. Those are rare these days in life, to find places that are warm and embracing like that,” Robinson said.
Since Robinson was named the conductor of the orchestra in 2021, it has more than doubled in size from approximately 30 members to an active roster of over 70 players. The orchestra currently has a waiting list, as it is limited by the size of its rehearsal room.
After Sunday, the orchestra will begin preparing for its June 7 concert, for which it is commissioning a composer to write a piece of music for the group, part of its efforts to aid in the creation of new music and support the works of living composers.
If You Go
What: Bend Pops Orchestra’s winter concert, “Screen Time!”
When: 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Caldera High School, 60925 SE 15th St., Bend
Cost: Free
Contact: bendpops.org