It's pretty amazing how far video game music has come. It's evolved from a few notes to signify a victory or a defeat to helping set the stage for and even to tell a story. Music from games and game series has become beloved as the years have passed, and Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda is one such series. It's evolved from Koji Kondo's early NES chiptunes to full symphonic arrangements, and The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses is composed of original orchestrations based on many of the franchise's most iconic themes and compositions from both past and present.

I was honored to attend the most recent performance of Symphony of the Goddess during E3 week in Los Angeles at the Greek Theatre. It was obvious as soon as I arrived at the venue that this was a very fan-driven event. Zelda-related wardrobe was donned by many of the attendees, some of whom were dressed in full Link regalia. One cosplayer could have easily been mistaken for Link himself; he was armed with Link's shield and played along with the background music with his ocarina with little effort. There were many 3DS units in use; in fact, this event was reminiscent of E3 in terms of how much Streetpass-ing and gaming was going on while waiting for the event to start.

I had never attended one of these events before, so I really didn't know what to expect. Even with a loyal Zelda fanbase firmly in place, I simply wasn't prepared for the exhibition of sight and sound that I was about to behold. I'm happy to say that this was one of the most exhilarating experiences I've ever had. I was amused, I was nearly moved to tears on a couple of different occasions, and I was able to enjoy the stories from The Legend of Zelda in a completely new way.

The event began with an overture, which delivered familiar themes from many of the games and set the mood perfectly for the evening of music to come. Hearing the original overworld theme from the original Legend of Zelda performed live with a full orchestra and chorus for the first time was simply unforgettable. My spine tingled as the music swelled and the chorus joined in. The crowd was captivated almost immediately, and the overture was followed by other orchestrations including a Hyrule dungeon medley and a tribute to Kakariko Village. The pieces were accompanied by edited in-game moments, but the music took the lead and told the story in this instance instead of a full game narrative. Those of us in the audience let our personal nostalgia and experience take over as thoughts drifted back to our favorite parts of each game.

Actress, daughter of comedian Robin, and self-admitted Zelda fan Zelda Williams served as the evening's musical tour guide, preparing the audience for what to expect as the proceedings carried on. Seeing her passion and genuine enjoyment not only of the games - after which she was named - but also of the music that took center stage for the night added something extra to the event. To have the privilege of being able to guide an audience while trying not to let any inner fandom completely take over is a special honor, and Ms. Williams played the part perfectly.

The Symphony of the Goddesses is a four-movement composition that spans four different Zelda games. The prelude is a tribute to the Goddesses mentioned in the title of the piece, who were introduced in Ocarina of Time: Din, Nayru, and Farore. The prelude then led into movements based on The Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker before intermission, then concluded with movements for Twilight Princess and finally -  a crowd favorite -  A Link to the Past. Each of the four movements told the story of each game through orchestrations of music from key moments in each game. As a special treat to the fans, three encores were played after the full symphony was completed, and each received a standing ovation afterwards.

The event was simply awe-inspiring. The power of music was on full display at the Greek Theatre, with the very best musicians available under the direction of Conductor Eimear Noone. Noone led her players like a field general, with demonstrative cues and passion that I appreciated as a former symphony musician myself.

After the event, I had a chance to spend a few minutes with Chad Seiter (Composer/Arranger/Music director) and Jeron Moore (Producer/Lead Creative). Both men are as passionate about video games as they are about music.

Mr. Seiter mentioned that each performance group of musicians is pulled locally for each stop on the tour. Amazingly, each performance only has 5 hours of rehearsal time. There are two rehearsals that run 150 minutes each. The musicians do a lot of sight-reading for the initial rehearsal while the dress rehearsal smoothes out any gaps and tunes the group for the final run. Mr. Seiter noted that Symphony of the Goddesses was put together to tell a story in a specific timeline and that Koji Kondo had input into the project before it was ready to go. It was an understandably nervous experience for him, as he paced for a few days thinking that Mr. Kondo wouldn't approve of the work before the call finally -  and happily -  came. Mr. Seiter and Mr. Moore decided which tracks from each of the games would be added. The last quote that I got before my time ended with Mr. Seiter was "Music makes me happy." That was exceptionally evident.

Mr. Moore talked about the Symphony of the Goddesses project as taking a passion and projecting it for others. Video games are just that for Mr. Moore, who shared with me that The Legend of the Zelda was one of his first gaming experiences -  and that he does still own the gold NES cartridge. Based on the success of this series, I asked him if there were any other series that he'd like to produce if he could. He mentioned Mega Man and a tribute to the Elder Scrolls series. The latter is significant because of the friendship and working relationship between Mr. Moore and composer Jeremy Soule. A tribute to sci-fi games was also an idea that was talked about.

In closing each interview, I asked both Mr. Seiter and Mr. Moore which games that they'd been playing during what little spare time the two have. Both men said that they're still playing Skyrim. I suspect that they're not alone, either. Mr. Seiter also mentioned that he'd been playing a lot of Diablo III and Starcraft II, while Mr. Moore mentioned Mass Effect 3. It's hard to see much free time for either one in the near future, though, as the Symphony of the Goddesses tour still has 14 more shows in 12 different venues over the next 6 months. Stops include Houston, San Diego, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, among others. Be sure to check the full schedule on http://zelda-symphony.com/schedule.

The Symphony of the Goddesses event, for me, one of the most exhilarating musical experiences that I've ever had. I cannot recommend it enough, regardless of whether you're a Zelda fan, a video game music fan, or just a fan of live music in general. It's an intense and powerful concert with extra musical goodies bookmarking the main symphony itself. You'll be captivated by the music, surrounded by loyal fans, and you'll be left with memories that will last for a long time after the final ovation subsides.

(Many thanks to Jeannine Jacobi from Fresh PR for allowing me to cover the event and access to speak with Mr. Seiter and Mr. Moore, as well to photographer Andrew Craig for his beautiful pictures after my camera died)