Symphonic Anime Orchestra (SAO) had its premiere at Nan Desu Kan 2005, Denver CO. With Katie Vedder – its conductor and creator – Japanese pop tunes were heard in a classical music setting, played with gusto by sixteen dedicated musicians to a partially filled room. Now, six years later, SAO has blossomed traveling all over the US and bringing a new kind of anime fan to every convention it attends. A-Kon 22, Dallas TX, hosted a 70 piece orchestra packing the room with both musicians and concert attendees. Its rousing rendition of Tank! from Cowboy Beebop and SAO tradition Hikari Kingdom Overture lifted the audience off their feet with cheers and applause.

It was at NDK 2005 that the idea for SAO really took root. Originally musicians rehearsed not only at the convention but did some summer rehearsals as well. This was very difficult because musicians lived all over the state and only some of the group could meet at any given time. It became even more challenging when Katie was working on her Bachelor of Arts in Durango (7 hours from NDK’s location). This is when Katie first met Mitch Miller – who stepped up to the plate running summer rehearsals and getting seriously involved.

Katie began preparing for SAO at NDK in 2006. The orchestra grew in size and included the voice actor, Sean Schemmel, voice of Goku from Dragon Ball Z. Sean attended NDK on the condition that he could play with the orchestra. Once again in 2006 the orchestra met, and after three days of early morning rehearsals another successful performance thundered through the main events room of Nan Desu Kan.

The following summer, Katie and Mitch decided it was time to add some chamber music to the mix, and Symphonic Anime Quartet (SAQ) was born. Originally comprised of flute, saxophone, tuba and clarinet, the quartet played its first concert in the halls of NDK 2007. Since its birth, the quartet has changed both in instrumentation and personal. It has played opening ceremonies, as background music to dance balls, in the halls of conventions, during special programming events, charity benefits, during SAO concerts and many other concert venues. SAQ’s first CD was released in 2010 and is currently working on its second CD.

After NDK 2008, where SAO had grown so large that it could no longer fit on the stage in main events room, Katie put SAO on hold focus on school and complete her master’s degree in music. With that completed, Katie threw all her energy into SAO with a new offering of panels, the addition of Samantha Terry (Euphonium) to the quartet and a new strategy that would not require summer rehearsals. SAO performed at its first big convention, A-Kon 2010 in Dallas. Texas. SAO has been requested to return to A-Kon as well as playing at many other conventions all over the US. In 2011, Katie announced the addition of a nonprofit portion of SAO that will further tie together classical music and Japanese pop with a scholarship competition for composers and a sponsorship program for musicians.