I’m very pleased that the Identity guzheng concerto will be performed by the China National Symphony Orchestra on November 13th in Beijing. The concerto will be included with a handful of other pieces for a concert celebrating the 150th birthday of Sun Yat-Sen. The CNSO had previously performed the concerto in 2011.

To use the piece’s full name, Identity: Zhongshan Zhuang is a concerto for guzheng and orchestra that I wrote with Chinese producer/composer Victor Cheng. Since 2010 we’ve been fortunate enough to see it performed many times both in the United States and China, including by prestigious ensembles like the San Francisco Symphony and Chicago Sinfonietta.

Guzheng virtuoso Su Chang has been our soloist since the very first performance, and she’ll be returning once again for this concert.

If you’d like to hear the piece or are just curious what a guzheng sounds like, you can find the album on Amazon or iTunes. (It also appears to be available for streaming via Apple Music, but I can’t figure out how to link to it.)

Tactical turn-based game Wizard Ops Tactics, a followup to Phyken Media’s 2011 shooter Wizard Ops: Part One, has been released for iOS and Android mobile platforms.

The game features a fantasy-themed orchestral score by Michael, combining musical elements from the prior game with many new themes and an overall pacing more suited to new game’s strategy genre.

The game is available on the iOS App Store and the major Android marketplaces.

Fantasy-themed action game WizardOps has been released for iPhone/iPod touch/iPad, with an Android version forthcoming.

Michael’s thoughts on the music: “The concept for the score was ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice meets drums ‘n’ bass electronica’, so needless to say it was a really fun compositional undertaking.”

Wizard Ops is currently available for purchase at the iOS app store.

Michael is writing music for Phkyen Media’s forthcoming iOS game Wizard Ops, as well as the critically-acclaimed Strange Rain title from Opertoon.

Wizard Ops is a traditional running/shooter series title featuring a team of stylized wizards running a gauntlet of Renaissance-esque opponents. Michael’s music combines orchestral fantasy scoring with modernistic touches and an undercurrent of humor.

Opertoon’s top-selling iOS app (#1 on U.S. iPad entertainment charts) Strange Rain is an immersive experience featuring music against a changing backdrop of stormy weather and a nonlinear narrative story. Michael’s piano score, to be offered as an expansion to the app, features an impressionistic accompaniment that, like the visuals, slowly becomes “stranger” over time.