Breaking News: Wing Commander Album Project Officially Kicks Off!

Today's the day! Origin composer George Oldziey's campaign to create a second album of live Wing Commander music has launched! Fans have been abuzz for the last few days as info has been released, but now there are a number of exciting additional details that can finally be shared.

For starters, Mr. Oldziey has revealed that this is a combination effort! He's not only working with a new live orchestra to perform 40-45 additional minutes of his classic Wing Commander work, but it will also be available digitally, on CD and on vinyl. Both a new live recording and a collectible vinyl print have been high on the list of fan requests these last few years, but the road to get here has been pretty challenging. Costs have been up and down as the world has been in turmoil, but George has been working on new bids that look very promising in order to make this happen. Here's a video that explains how this has unfolded and what the project means to him:

This is not George's first rodeo, and he's taking what he learned from his prior albums to maximize every dollar. Previous efforts have afforded him the time to compose and orchestrate new music for the performers, so most of the pre-work that would have been necessary is already complete. Additionally, he's coupled these efforts with the extremely generous financial support of Wingnut super benefactor Matt Hiltner. What this means is that the community contribution required to get this project off the ground is shockingly low - just $16,000! That's half of what it would take otherwise. Another way to think of this is like having the initial pledges matched and doubled. We'll have more detail on this and other topics digging into the project over the next month.

Many of you know me, George Oldziey, as the composer for several historic video games but most notably three games from the iconic 1990's Wing Commander series; Wing Commander 3 (Heart of the Tiger), Wing Commander 4 (The Price of Freedom) and Wing Commander; Prophecy. I've been blessed to have many dedicated fans of those games and my music from around the world. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Wing Commander 3, my first game score.

Ten years ago many of you supported me in a successful campaign to record Volume 1 of my music from those games featuring a live orchestra and choir (here is a link to a video documentary of that amazing experience!). I would love to commemorate the 30th anniversary milestone with another orchestral recording, Volume 2, which will feature more music from those games played by a symphony orchestra and this time released on vinyl as well as a CD and digital downloads. All the music that I plan to record, 40 to 45 minutes of it, is already orchestrated and all the scores and parts are ready to print and hand out to the musicians to play. Some examples of the music to be recorded are (I apologize if some of the titles are a bit vague. The Origin audio naming conventions never had titles for the files, only cue numbers!).....

• Wing Commander 3 - Destruction of Kilrah - Kilrathi Surrender, Mission 3, Combat 8
• Wing Commander 4 - Blair Arrives at Telemon, Death of Vagabond, Blair Runs from Guards Down Hallway, Missions 2, 5 and 7, Combat 2, Combat 7
• Wing Commander; Prophecy - Intro, Mission 1, Combat 4

After all the many wonderful musical things I've had the fortune of doing in my lifetime I've always felt that my music from the Wing Commander series is perhaps my most important contribution. The fact that this is also the 70th anniversary of my birth I have a special fondness in my heart to create another amazing momento for all of you, the best fans in the world!