College orientation, in all its exhilarating newness, is highly disorienting. An incoming first-year at the University of Chicago is greeted upon arrival by an expansive, almost overwhelming range of ways to spend time. In addition to a broad array of on-campus jobs and events, there are majors (68) to declare, intramural sports (36) to play, and Recognized Student Organizations (400-plus) to join. In light of this somewhat dizzying list, you could say that the University is where fun comes to die—of exhaustion.

Ethan Koroma, Class of 2026, and Matthew Ahmon, Class of 2027, ran the gauntlet of academic and social opportunities and came out academically overcommitted and extracurricular-ly burned out—until they spotted a poster for a new student group that performs music from video games. Koroma, a cellist and pianist, and Ahmon, a violinist and pianist, both wanted to play music in college but hadn’t previously seen any outlets they connected with.

For Ahmon, just seeing the poster gave him hope that he would continue down a musical path. He and Koroma showed up at a rehearsal and found themselves profoundly moved by the music they heard—soundtracks they had lived with for years but never performed with others. They, in turn, felt motivated to share this musical subculture with others. Two years out from their first encounter with the Game Music Ensemble, Koroma and Ahmon are now its codirectors.

Founded in 2023 by student-musicians of various backgrounds and gaming abilities, the Game Music Ensemble stands out from other student performance groups, such as the Jazz Ensemble or the University Symphony Orchestra, for its serious commitment to music from digital media. Programming from its twice-yearly concerts might feature scores and songs from video games, films, anime, and television, played in front of substantial crowds by a roster of 20 to 30 amateur and professional musicians from clarinetists to keytarists (a portmanteau of keyboard and guitar, a keytar is a portable keyboard synthesizer).

The codirectors are clear about their mission: They are freeing up orchestral music to be, plainly, fun, while simultaneously trying to correct the assumption that game music “is just a bunch of bleeps and boops,” as Koroma puts it. In reality, video game and film composers have long been respected within the contemporary classical music community, and there’s not a stark line between those composing for the concert hall and those working in other media. This is serious music that just happens to come from video games.

Indeed, the ensemble sits in sections around a conductor, often performing in concert black attire on a formal stage, though they may be joined by characters like Mario or Pokémon projected on a screen behind them. Incorporating the influences of folk, big band jazz, rock, modern pop, and other genres, the group’s musical repertoire from previous seasons—with selections taken from media including the game Super Mario Galaxy and the TV show Only Murders in the Building—ranges from minimalist piano music to epic orchestral pieces in the style of Wagner and Mahler, complete with thundering percussion and an onstage choir.

Koroma hopes this translation of digital media to the stage will change how video game music is perceived—and appreciated. He believes the ensemble is in “a unique position” to bridge the gap between video game music and its more established antecedents.

For Ahmon, the role of the ensemble on campus is to “contribute to the community in a way that hasn’t been done yet, … as part of a greater movement, a shift toward recognition for these genres.” And they have found a loyal audience for game music in both the student body and the broader community. The ensemble has been invited to play in dormitories, at UChi-Con (the University’s yearly anime convention), and at a gaming event at the Harold Washington Library downtown. They’ve also been approached by the steering committee of the Year of Games, a University-wide celebration of play over the 2025–26 academic year, to add to the festivities. For the codirectors, this rise in interest in digital media is “only natural” in a digitally oriented and music-loving world. In their view, says Ahmon, “this is just where music is right now.”