One student takes his passion for video games to a new level

It may be difficult to tell at times, but behind the laser fire and pyrotechnics of the wildly popular video game, Halo, lies an inspired soundtrack.So inspiring, in fact, that nineteen year-old freshman Jonathan Churchill recently entered and won the “Halo 2 Volume 2 Music Mashup Contest” for putting an original spin on the theme of well-known video game character, Master Chief.The contest, held at www.h2v2.ggl.com, challenged participants to either remix the existing Halo soundtrack, or create their own track, inspired by the music from the game. Once all of the entries had been received, anyone could log on to the website and rate the tracks from one to five.Jonathan took both first and second place in the online contest, winning a brand new Fender electric guitar for “Against All odds,” his remix of the original soundtrack, as well as tons of free software for his original creation “In Need of a Hero.”Jonathan used a G4 Power Mac to compose his winning work. Majoring in Commercial Electronic Music, Jonathan also plays the sax, keys, drums, and clarinet on top of his already impressive electronic music talent. Much of his work can be heard at his website, www.freewebs.com/dont4get2flush.When asked about his recent victory he says, “It’s a great way to get known.”Judging by his amazing success, it’s a safe bet to say that Jonathan has a bright future in front of him, and it’s great to see Western students succeeding in both the virtual and real world.