Original Challenge:

This round you are writing a track inspired by Hollow Knight, and one selected track will be played by a live wind orchestra at a concert titled "A Dark and Stormy Night". The orchestra is my orchestra, and the concert will be at the end of November this year, with the music ready distribute by the start of August.

Style of music: Using Gods & Nightmares as your primary guide, create an orchestral track of around 4 minutes length that represents "A Dark and Story Knight", a heroic track that begins with a slow dark section at the start that builds to a rousing conclusion full of hope and determination.

The Orchestra: You are writing for a Wind Orchestra. You don't have to get this completely right in the initial composition as I will orchestrate my selected track ready for performance as my entry in the following challenge round, but keep in mind that you are writing for a wind orchestra of around 40 people. A wind orchestra does not have strings, so the main instruments you need to cover are clarinets (1st, 2nd, 3rd, bass), oboe, piccolo, flutes (1st, 2nd), trumpets (1st, 2nd), french horns (1st, 2nd), saxes (alto, tenor, baritone), trombones (1st, 2nd), euphonium, tuba and percussion (marimba, tubular bells, glockenspiel, drum kit, bass drum, timpani, cymbals, etc). You can include piano and a bass guitar, and optionally a lead guitar and even a pipe organ! We may be able to add a harp, and if you wish you can include choral parts (up to six singers). If you want to include other instrumentation you can but it may need to be adjusted for the performance.

One tip when writing for wind orchestra, keep the melody line moving between the instrument families for best effect.

Cover Challenge:

This is your chance to remake your favourite Hollow Knight track. You can choose any track and create a cover in your own style.

Art Challenge:

Using a Hollow Knight inspired art style, create an image of our hero knight (in the center picture above) conducting an orchestra of insects. Images created will be projected on a large screen during the playing of the piece at the concert (with your permission).

Arrangement Challenge:

For this month you can select any previously created track from the original music created for the Zelda round or the Minecraft round. Select a track you loved and talk to the composer to get a copy of the necessary midi to allow you to create your own orchestration of the track. For the orchestration you can choose to create a track for VGMLOVE (or own virtual orchestra to be) or any other ensemble that you wish.