Texas Tech School of Music students were recently featured in the new “Star Wars Outlaws” video game soundtrack.

Texas Tech University’s School of Music has had many accomplishments in its history of students performing for the biggest names and orchestras. So, a student being part of a big production shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“Star Wars” is known for being one of the most successful movie franchises of all time, along with a massive video game collection. In August, “Star Wars Outlaws” was released on major consoles and has had a good rating in the first three months of its release. Along with “Star Wars” movies and video games come award-winning soundtracks. This year’s game was no exception. Texas Tech graduate students Kassie Lindamood Smith and John Stacy had the honor of being part of the soundtrack in this video game. 

“It was the right place at the right time, and the right colleague’s right time,” Kassie said. “For video games and for movies, they usually hire a large orchestra. In the case of ‘Star Wars Outlaws,’ they got the Scottish National Orchestra to record the majority of the music.”

Kassie is working on her Doctorate of Musical Arts in flute performance. She has a musical background growing up singing and participating in performances, along with taking piano lessons, but flute is her main instrument. Music has always been a constant in her life. This brought her into different performances, however nothing near this level.

“Normally projects I have for school or other performance gigs require a lot of time and preparation,” Kassie said. “At the time I didn't know this was for Star Wars. I was just tasked to record and submit a few minutes of music. I recorded it in a few takes and sent it off without really knowing what it was for.”

John and Kassie worked together before this project. John is a graduate student working toward his Doctorate of Musical Arts in horn performance. 

“John and I met through the School of Music,” Kassie said. “We’ve played together in Texas Tech’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble, the University Symphony Orchestra, the Graduate Woodwind Quintet; we are often in the pit for Opera Theatre, and we were in an outreach ensemble with the Lubbock Symphony.”

The location of the recording session for Kassie and John was not in a recording studio however, or even in a classroom. It was in a church late in the evening because that’s where the sound could best reverberate. Kassie says this was one of the few things in the project that was unexpected. 

“We actually met up at a church,” she said. “Most of the track was already recorded and we just recorded on top of the track. I had a feeling that it could be Star Wars because of the composer, but it seemed too good to be true.” 

Kassie credits the ability to be in a project like this to making connections on campus and in life. Along with the busy time frame, however, she also had a fast-approaching deadline. So, the force was strong with Kassie when it came to making it happen quickly.

“It’s very much luck and knowing people,” Kassie said. “Building connections at your university is important because the music world is so small. Everybody knows everybody. I was just the flutist who could do it in the time crunch.”

Andrew Stetson, director of the School of Music, mentioned the excitement that Kassie and John brought in contributing to this project.

“Sometimes, the thinking is that in music, the only options are classroom teaching or ensemble performance, but the possibilities within today’s music careers are more multi-faceted,” he said. “There are several areas where career growth for those with arts backgrounds are slated to grow, including in the video game industry as a recording artist. We’re glad that we played a role in helping Kassie and John prepare for this changing landscape and contribute to this exciting project.”

With “Star Wars Outlaws” being on her resume, Kassie not only has an opportunity of exposure to a wide audience, but also a chance of winning awards. Last year “Star Wars Jedi: Survivor” won the award for Best Score Soundtrack for video games and other interactive media at the Grammys. “Star Wars Outlaws” just received a nomination earlier this week, so Kassie has fingers crossed it will win this year, too.