And now the Super Mario Brothers overture ...

As classical band monikers go, it's as snazzy as the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields - we're talking the Video Game Orchestra here, and the orchestra is scheduled to return to the Berklee Performance Center on Dec. 5, the orchestra's first show at Berklee since its sold-out performance in March, the center said.

Don't look for "Swan Lake" on this dance card. Instead concert goers can expect to hear such "classic titles" as the sound track from Super Mario Brothers video games. Image at right: An inspiration to maestros everywhere.

(With work like "The Beatles: Rock Band" on its resume, a local game company called Harmonix Music Systems has shown that there is money to be made with music and video games. And the folks at Berklee and other local conservatories have been paying attention. Hence the Video Game Orchestra - or VGO for short.)

According to the press release, the VGO includes a 45-piece orchestra, a choir, and a five-piece rock band, and many of the players are students at Berklee, Boston University, Boston Conservatory, and New England Conservatory.

"The VGO will perform new arrangements of classic titles such as Super Mario Bros. and Final Fantasy, and music from modern hits like God of War, Silent Hill, and Metal Gear Solid," the release said. "Renowned video game music composer Wataru Hokoyama (Afrika, Resident Evil 5) will guest conduct the VGO for his own Afrika Suite, which won numerous awards last year."

As Groucho would say, "Let the violas throb ..." (Globe Staff)