From Video Game Composer to Opera Composer

My commission to complete 'Turandot' came from the most unusual source: my video game music. The Artistic Director of Washington National Opera, Francesca Zambello, was at home one day and heard some music coming from her teenage son's bedroom. Intrigued by what she was hearing, she knocked on his door, and discovered that he was not, in fact, listening to an opera: it was my piece "Sogno di Volare", the theme song to 'Civilization VI'. I am eternally grateful to Francesca Zambello and Washington National Opera for giving me my first opera commission. And boy, was it a doozy. Footage from 'The Christopher Tin Sing-In' courtesy of Washington National Opera, and features the Washington Metropolitan Gamer Symphony Orchestra, Colleen Daly, Carl Tanner, and the good people of Washington D.C.