A Gaming Rehearsal in Three Movements

I. Adagio

It’s Saturday evening in Lima. Inside the National School of Music of Peru, a group of 20 young students is practicing for its next concert. It’s the typical scheme of an orchestra: the conductor stands in front, the string instruments in the first lines, the wind ones behind, and in the back, a percussionist plays the timpani. It’s their first rehearsal of the month and they are sight-reading the scores in front of them. The conductor holds the baton and swings it back and forth while making eye contact with each musician. They are playing “Mario through the Years,” a medley of tunes from the Mario games.

The conductor is Gabriel Vizcarra. He’s studying music direction at the National School of Music, which is located in the heart of the city, near the Central Bank and a fast food restaurant. Vizcarra is also a gamer. He owns several portable consoles, and he especially loves playing Japanese role playing games. I can see his passion while he directs. “Haven’t you played this game?” he asks a flute player who doesn’t recognize the music from the Super Mario Bros. 2 suite. Vizcarra looks in the eyes of each musician when he wants them to play with more intensity, and lifts his eyebrows during the quiet bars. He is tall, but he seems even bigger standing on a stage. His voice is nasal and doesn’t reflect his authority in the orchestra. He wears glasses and a suit without a tie, while the rest of the musicians are in jeans and casual clothes. Most of them are teenagers.