When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. Or you could just listen to some great music.

The Game of Thrones live concert experience returned to Denver Friday, Sept. 16 to bring fans the songs of Westeros via a live orchestra and choir. 

Ramin Djawadi, the composer of the Game of Thrones soundtrack, directed a group of not only his own tour members, comprised of several instruments as well as vocals, but a local Denver choir and orchestra as well. 

“I think the whole idea behind Game of Thrones, where everything is built from the ground up, translates into the music,” said Avery Chapman, a fan who came from Aurora to see the show. 

Chapman was joined by Saravuth “Mulan” Soth, who said that the music and the visuals together build an image in the viewer’s mind. 

“Music tells a very emotional story on its own,” Soth said. “The visuals do help, but when you hear the music on top of it, it helps you remember certain scenes.”

Kicking off with the theme song, the live experience gave fans a taste of some of the show’s most well-known pieces, including “The Rains of Castamere,” “The Light of the Seven,” “Needle” and many more.

All songs were accompanied by clips and scenes from the show, as well as live experiences including jets of fire, smoke, flashing lights and even Djawadi being raised off the ground while he played the organ. 

“We were talking about how talented and how smart Ramin Djawadi is, and how he is able to create this entire visual with just his music alone. You can picture not even what is happening in the scene that the music underscores, but you know what you’re supposed to feel, the setting you’re supposed to feel with each house. Just to be able to experience that live is so cool.” -Jake Cuddemi, CSU student and Game of Thrones fan.

However, the night was more than just for fans to experience music. After the theme song played and Djawadi introduced himself to the crowd, he expressed a sentiment that resonated throughout audience members. 

“Let’s have fun together.” 

Djawadi encouraged fans to express their love of the show and its characters together, even telling them during one song to scream when their favorite character came on screen.

The sentiment of having fun together was true for fans in the audience, including a group of three Colorado State University seniors who came to the show together. 

Jesse Zuniga, Jake Cuddemi and Zach Haigh attended the show after Zuniga was gifted tickets by his girlfriend for his birthday, while Cuddemi and Haigh got their tickets at the same time to surprise their friend.

“We watch the show religiously, since freshman year,” Cuddemi said. “Since we knew each other we have been watching it together. We geek out over the music, it’s awesome.”

Haigh added that they have all watched the show multiple times through and have continued to be huge fans of the show.

“You get one experience by watching the show and feeling the emotion and everything that goes into the visuals, but just hearing the music live from an actual symphony will just give us goosebumps,” Haigh said. “It’ll be such an amazing experience.” 

Zuniga said that he has always enjoyed soundtracks and scores, which, coupled with the fact that he is a fan of the show, is why he was excited about the experience.

Cuddemi added that the three listened to the soundtrack on the way down to Denver, while further explaining why they like Djawadi as a composer. 

“We were talking about how talented and how smart Ramin Djawadi is, and how he is able to create this entire visual with just his music alone,” Cuddemi said. “You can picture not even what is happening in the scene that the music underscores, but you know what you’re supposed to feel, the setting you’re supposed to feel with each house. Just to be able to experience that live is so cool.” 

Austin Fleskes can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @Austinfleskes07.