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p>Composer Dren McDonald? pays tribute 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 video game music that has been rearranged for string quartet.

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p>The String Arcade was funded by an extremely successful Kickstarter campaign. It contains 15 original arrangements of classic themes from gaming that were performed and funded by Bay Area musicians and Boston's Videri String Quartet. Featured games include Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin, Monkey Island 2, FTL: Faster Than Light, and Minecraft. You can stream and download a preview track from PopCap?'s Plants vs. https://pastelink.net/qc5n7f48 Zombies here.

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p>The String Arcade is due for release on February 11. The album is available digitally pre-ordered through iTunes for $7.99 and an exclusive CD with two bonus tracks is available at $9.99 [Photo credit: Lorrie Murray]

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p>Classic video game music reimagined in The String Arcade, now available for preorder

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p>The album of the string quartet is out on February 11, and all proceeds go to Alameda Music Project after-school program

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p>ALAMEDA, Calif. - January 28 2014 - In August, Bay Area composer Dren McDonald? led a successful Kickstarter campaign for The String Arcade The String Arcade, a recording of classic video game music that has been reimagined for string quartet. The finished recording was distributed to backers this month and is now available for preorder to the general population from iTunes and BandCamp? (see below for details). The String Arcade will be released on February 11 for download on digital and CD.

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p>About The String Arcade -- http://www.thestringarcade.com

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p>The String Arcade is a well-curated collection of music composed for string quartet by Dren McDonald? (Ghost Recon Commander, Ravenwood Fair) and Jason Poss (Lord of the Rings film trilogy, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King). The arrangements go beyond the traditional chamber music emulations the themes that inspired them and each piece is 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, which featured a moody string quartet score.

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p>In addition to offering gamers a fresh method to play classics they love The String Arcade is also set to encourage young musicians to pick up the violin, viola or cello. 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.

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p>About the Music

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p>The String Arcade's 15 original arrangements (plus 2 CD bonus tracks) were inspired by games from Galaga to Minecraft and performed by local musicians, with a special 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

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p>The String Arcade spans a few decades in video game history, ranging from stand-up arcade classics (Galaga, TRON), through the 16- and 8-bit eras (Legend of Zelda Sonic the Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Ecco the Dolphin) and the golden age of 1990s adventures (Monkey Island 2, Outlaws), to more recent hits (Portal 2, Minecraft), indie favorites (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.

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p>Preorder Details

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p>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

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p>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

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p>Classic game themes get classier in the album of string quartets The String Arcade

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