Interview: Ian Passmore (Stardew Valley Symphony of Seasons)

Cleveland is known for its love of the orchestra. After all, it houses one of the world’s most recognized and critically acclaimed orchestras. One could say that Cleveland is, in fact, spoiled. To add to that, Cleveland also has amazing touring performances coming through. It’s often a point of pride when these artists come through Cleveland, as the tour tends to feature some of these amazing musicians. One such person is Ian Passmore, who is the conductor of the Stardew Valley Orchestra. The orchestra will be performing at Playhouse Square on March 3, 2026.

For those who have not been living on the video game farm, Stardew Valley is a 10-year-old simulation video game that lets you raise animals, grow crops, and raise a family. This game’s popularity has only grown, and it has been sold over 50 million times! The PC game was ported to other video game systems, and the audience has grown exponentially from there. What has always been one of the fans’ favorite aspects of the game is the music! Two years after the game was released, fans were able to purchase sheet music for the game, and the fandom has only risen from there.

CleveRock had the opportunity to connect with Passmore to discuss the tour’s stop here in Cleveland. Learn a little bit more about how one becomes the conductor of an orchestra and why this opportunity is so special.

Timothy: Are you excited to come visit Cleveland? Have you ever had the chance to hear our orchestra?

Ian: I have not on both accounts, but how great is that orchestra? It’s not just a top-tier orchestra for Ohio. It’s a top-tier orchestra for anywhere in the world, and it has been since the ’60s. 

Timothy: Oh yes, we are totally blessed! It’s easy to take for granted, but thankfully, we really don’t. So I need to ask, how does one become a conductor? Do you have to be well-versed in multiple instruments, or is it something you can independently specialize in?

Ian: I will preface this by saying every time I get asked this question, I usually tell people I’m definitely the exception, not the rule, not that there are many rules about getting into it. Everyone’s path is pretty unique. I’m from Thomasville, North Carolina. I’m from small, rural North Carolina. And so I didn’t grow up with classical music, but an orchestra actually came through and played at my elementary school when I was pretty small. So I knew from about the time I was eight years old that I wanted to be a conductor. Which is unusual. And even more unusual than that is I had my grandmother who didn’t know a thing about classical music, and I’m pretty sure all this time later, probably still doesn’t. But she, aging myself here, took me to the library and got me a library card and let me check out as often as I wanted every book, recording or resource, even remotely related to conducting and classical music. So by the time a year or so had passed, I had more or less taught myself the bare essential nuts and bolts that you would be able to teach yourself as a child about conducting.  

Timothy: That’s fantastic! It’s amazing what proper support can do for someone who is young and driven. As a high school teacher, I really appreciate hearing stories about people who have the encouragement necessary. So, when did schooling enter the equation? Did you know you needed to go to college for this?

Ian: I had a really great music education. And so my goal was originally to be the very best middle school band director in rural North Carolina. And about the time I got out of undergrad in the mid to late 2000s, I was encouraged to pursue professional orchestra conducting instead. And now, just through a long time of doing it, I spend sort of equal time working with professional orchestras all over the country and student orchestras as often as I can. And it’s a balance that I found I quite enjoy. 

Timothy: So do you feel as though your own personal music experience helped prepare you for reading the music that you are going through as you conduct? How does someone prepare for that?

Ian: It was a little bit, even though I hadn’t quite put the connection together between reading full scores of pieces and conducting when I was younger, I basically just taught myself the physical activity of conducting, which is really only when you’re actually in the business of conducting is the easiest and the least part of the job. It’s the part that people see. All the preparatory work with the scores and the logistics and all of those things is really most of the job and the social aspect of it, especially nowadays, because you’re essentially the face of whatever organization you happen to be conducting at the time. 

Timothy: That’s a really good point. If anyone is going to speak or represent the orchestra, it would be the conductor. That really seems to put a deal od pressure on the conductor. Was there anything else that helped you along the way? You mentioned one of your teachers?

Ian: One of my trumpet teachers that I had when I was younger also worked at the local music store. And so the publishers would give these educational demo scores in for new pieces or even old pieces that would be advertised to the local music educators. At the end of the school year they would clear those out and they would usually just discard them. Well, he made a deal with the music store owner that was like, “Instead of throwing these out, I’ve got this kid that really wants to be a conductor, why don’t we give them to him so he can practice conducting and reading the scores?” And so they would just give them to me!

Timothy: Well, that’s awesome! I bet that was exciting to be about to go through. I’m not a conductor, and I think I’d love to have received those! It’s amazing what you were able to do to create opportunities for yourself and with people looking out for you.

Ian: Yeah, exactly. I mean, people talk about going to all these very fancy schools, which I eventually went to as well, at least for my doctoral degree. I went to a fancy conservatory, but people talk about the need to get into those programs and to prove yourself. But the fact of the matter is, if you’re a really great player, when you’re auditioning for things, it’s the fact that you’re a great player is the thing that matters most.

Timothy: Yep, 100%. I would agree with that. I think today, more than ever, is proof of this. Again, as a teacher, I see more people opting not to attend post-secondary education and instead working straight into the field they are interested in by proving themselves. Tell us a little bit about how you got involved with the Stardew Valley Orchestra, if you will. Tell us what to expect when you come through Cleveland. Oh, 

Ian: I am so glad that they were able to reschedule this show because having the opportunity to bring the show, which is a very, very cute and fun show, I think would’ve been too big of a blow to the tour calendar to have to miss a major city like Cleveland. I know we’ll have a ton of Stardew fans. So I’m glad that they were able to reschedule that. And I’m glad that I was still able to do it on the new date! It all just sorta came together. I got a call from someone who mentioned Brian, one of my best buds from graduate school. We were in the same conducting class together. It was his recommendation that got me attached to the project. I honestly had never heard of the game before. But I was able to get together with my manager and work out all the dates that I could do. The more I learned, the more I realized what a devoted following it has, and I couldn’t have been more excited to be part of the project.

Timothy: That’s so great that you are all able to look out for one another. And so it sounds like you took some time to learn more about the game and the music and why it’s so special to so many people. How does the audience tend to react?

Ian: Sometimes I’ve found that there’s a little bit of a stigma of what one should expect and how one should behave at an orchestra concert. A lot of the times I think the audience probably thinks that we expect that the musicians on stage is this very sort of highbrow kind of golf clap type response to this thing. It’s usually not that lively. So when I first walk out, I kind of go off-script a little to loosen them up and let them know we want this to be a party for the audience. And we know they’re excited to be there and they just might feel apprehensive because this is their first orchestra concert. And in my experience, because I usually ask for a show of hands, a lot of them, this is their very first live orchestra contract. By the time the show is over we are almost interacting with the audience and everyone is having an amazing time feeding it back and forth!

Timothy: That’s a really great way to think of this whole experience! Ian, thank you so much for your time. I know myself, and many here in Cleveland cannot wait to see you and the rest of the orchestra here in Cleveland on March 3!