“American violinist in concert”

The January Series took a break from lectures on Thursday for a performance by Taylor Davis, whose violin covers of video game and film music on YouTube have earned her nearly 1.7 million subscribers.

Accompanied by professionally produced videos and accompaniment tracks, Davis played music from Final Fantasy VII, Pocahontas, Pirates of the Caribbean and Gladiator, among other franchises. She closed her show with a Star Wars medley, complete with her bow becoming a lightsaber in the video.

Davis, who minored in music in college for scholarship reasons, said she never planned on having a full-time career in music. She started posting videos on YouTube while working a day job, and eventually the popularity of her “nerdy content” allowed her to quit.

Davis has an emotional connection to the video game music she performs, since she used video games as an escape during middle school, when she was bullied for not having the right interests. She’s found that much of her audience now uses her music for the same purpose.

In addition to covers, her newest album, “Odyssey,” also includes several original pieces. These are influenced heavily by the film score style that she loves, and she played a few of them on Thursday.

Speaking about her original music, Davis said, “So much of my inspiration comes from my audience.” She hopes that her work gives her audience the same kind of “positive emotional escape” that it has provided her.

More of Davis’s music can be found on her YouTube channel as well as on iTunes.