Voting Opens for the 2015 Classic FM Hall of Fame

It’s that time of the year again, folks!

Each year, the UK-based radio station Classic FM polls its listeners to chart the top 300 pieces of classical music out there. This publicly-voted poll is as open as they come. Whilst there are pre-loaded entries of known classics, there is scope for the public to suggest music that has yet to be recognised.

This opportunity was seized three years ago by fans of video game music across the world, sending Nobuo Uematsu and his work on compositions for the Final Fantasy series amongst the top entries of the Hall of Fame. Aerith’s Theme from Final Fantasy VII reached #16 out of 300 in this fantastic recognition of the amazing effort that goes into video game music.

If you’re curious, here are the entries from last year’s Hall of Fame that are video game-related. Puff your chest with pride:

#289 – Journey – Austin Wintory
#177 – Kingdom Hearts – Yoko Shimomura
#75 – Kingdoms of Amalur – Grant Kirkhope
#54 – Viva PiÃ±ata – Grant Kirkhope
#52 – World of Warcraft – Russell Brower
#50 – Banjo-Kazooie – Grant Kirkhope
#15 – The Elder Scrolls Series – JeremyÂ Soule
#7 – Final Fantasy Series – Nobuo Uematsu

Now, the time has come to support video game music once more and cast your votes in for 2015’s Hall of Fame.

How do I vote?

It’s super easy. All you’ve gotta do is visit this link (opens in new tab) and start typing in composers or pieces that you wish to vote for.

Some entries are already pre-loaded, such as Nobuo Uematsu for Final Fantasy, however you are free to vote for any composer or piece that you wish.

At the same time, Classic FM are running a prize draw for those who cast votes into the Hall of Fame, so you might even strike lucky whilst supporting music in video games. Not bad!

If you’d like an example, here is how I voted:

Vote #1 – Nobuo Uematsu – Final Fantasy series

This is one of the pre-loaded entries to support someone who is easily my favourite composer. Uematsu-san’s work is simply legendary in my opinion and concerts based on his music regularly sell-out within hours of tickets going on sale. The example above comes from Final Fantasy VI and is especially notable for the amazing organ work.

One day I charted some different versions of one of Uematsu-san’s most famous melodies. Check it out!

Vote #2 – Masayoshi Soken – Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn

Ok, so this might be partly down to me being a wee bit addicted to the game right now. However, the soundtrack for the game is pretty rad. This one is a big favourite of mine from the game, if anything because it’s joyously destructive

Vote #3 – Harry Gregson-Williams – Metal Gear Solid 2 Theme

Mr Gregson-Williams is mostly busy in the world of film, however he has put his conducting skills into the brilliant Metal Gear Solid franchise. This is the opening theme from MGS 2 and is pretty much guaranteed to knock me in the feels each time it plays.