The New Madison Gamer Symphony: From Screens to Stage

In Friday’s (10/31) Madison Magazine, Lily Spanbauer writes, “The Madison Gamer Symphony Orchestra (MGSO) will debut on Nov. 1 with two performances at Madison Youth Arts Center … Audiences will experience music from classic Nintendo games like Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong, along with tunes from contemporary franchises … MGSO was born one year ago, when Ben Carlee, a doctoral candidate in musical arts, developed the idea as part of coursework for an Arts Entrepreneurship class at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. MGSO is not the first gamer symphony orchestra, but the concept is new in Madison. In the Midwest, there are just a few others, including in the Twin Cities and Des Moines.… MGSO consists of 55 musicians … Carlee hopes to differ from the average symphony orchestra by creating opportunities for musicians from marginalized groups. As a queer Latino performer, Carlee has struggled to find consistent work since moving to Madison for school in the fall of 2022. Madison isn’t the only city that lacks opportunities for diverse musicians. In a 2025 diversity report, the League of American Orchestras found that over 75% of the country’s orchestra musicians are white…. ‘I want to show others, especially those who share my background, that they belong in this field and deserve space on stage,’ Carlee says.”