Merregnon Studios

Merregnon Studios
Concert and orchestra recording production.
Industry Video games, orchestra, recording
Founded 1999
Headquarters Dresden, Germany
Key people
 Thomas Böcker
Website www.gameconcerts.com
The participants of Symphonic Fantasies after the performance of the concert

Merregnon Studios was founded in 1999 by Thomas Böcker. Having spent time in Japan and as a lifelong fan of video game music, Böcker sought to bring orchestral video game music concerts to Europe and produce grand and vivid storytelling arrangements and scores based on video game material. The first example of his vision came with the first volume in the Merregnon CD series in 2000.

Since 1999, Böcker had been working in the games industry as producer, director and advisor for a variety of soundtracks. His role as executive producer and project director of the Merregnon albums provided him with many contacts to conductors, orchestras and composers from around the world,[1] and he began to develop the concept of a new series of video game music orchestra concerts, Inspired by game concerts from Japan, the Orchestral Game Music Concerts from the 1990s in particular, he produced the first concert event of its kind outside Japan.[2][3][4] To attract as many people from the target audience as possible, the concert was to be scheduled alongside an established event connected to the game industry. He proposed his idea to the Leipzig Trade Fair in 2002, which agreed to hold the Symphonic Game Music Concert during the GC: Games Convention, the first trade fair for video games in Europe.[5]

The Symphonic Game Music Concerts became an incredible success,[1] and marked the beginning of one of the longest running video game concert series of all time.[2][3][4] Jonne Valtonen joined as an exclusive contract artist for the studio through his work on the concert series.

After the cancellation of Symphonic Game Music Concert at the Leipzig Trade Fair, The team began to produce a new series of concert titled Symphonic in association with the WDR in Cologne, a yearly event with themed video game orchestra concerts built on classical music values blended with modern compositions. Since the first event in 2008, Symphonic Shades, the Symphonic series has gone on to spawn 4 additional events, all which have been critically acclaimed and award winning in their field. All of Merregnon Studios's productions have been officially sanctioned and supported by the game developer and composers featured in the event, including Square Enix, Nintendo, and Nobuo Uematsu.

Merregnon Studios has produced and directed numerous orchestral video game music recordings and albums. In 2000, the studio debuted with the Merregnon release, an original concept album with contributions from various video game composers from around the world such as Yuzo Koshiro and Chris Hülsbeck to create a melodic story told entirely through music. The album received a follow-up in 2004. The studio produced Masashi's Hamauzu's debut album Vielen Dank in 2007. In 2008, they produced and provided the orchestration for SEGA's World Club Champion Football. That same year, they also produced the recording of the drammatica -The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura- album published by Square Enix.

In addition to producing albums and orchestra recording for other companies, Merregnon Studios had their own concerts released on CD, with Symphonic Fantasies being published by Decca in Europe and Square Enix in Japan, while Symphonic Odysseys saw a release from Dog Ear Records, Nobuo Uematsu's own production company.

Concerts

Symphonic Game Music Concert series

The Symphonic Game Music Concerts (German: Symphonische Spielemusikkonzerte) are a series of award-winning, annual German video game music concerts initiated in 2003, notable for being the longest running and the first of their kind outside Japan.[2][3][4] They are produced by Thomas Böcker and performed by various orchestras conducted by Andy Brick (2003–2007), Arnie Roth (2008, 2009 and 2011), and Niklas Willén (2010, 2012).[6][7][8]

Symphonic series

Symphonic Shades

Main article: Symphonic Shades

In late 2007, Thomas Böcker announced that he was producing Symphonic Shades, a concert exclusively dedicated to the music of German game composer Chris Hülsbeck, taking place on 23 August 2008.[9] Tickets for it were sold out after six days,[10] prompting the producers to schedule a second concert[11] that would be performed to another sold-out audience at 11 p.m. on the same day of the Symphonic Shades world premiere.[12] The event marked the first live radio broadcast of a video game music concert.[13]

Symphonic Fantasies

Main article: Symphonic Fantasies

In February 2008, Thomas Böcker mentioned some considerations about a continuation of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series in Cologne.[14] The plans were later confirmed by Winfried Fechner who announced Symphonic Fantasies, a video game music concert that took place in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall on 12 September 2009.[15] Tickets for the event sold out quickly, necessitating a second concert at the König-Pilsener-Arena in Oberhausen, on 11 September 2009.[16] In addition to the live performances, the concert saw a radio broadcast on WDR4 and, for the first time, enabled viewers world-wide to experience the event via live video streaming.[17] A CD edited and mixed at the WDR Studios and mastered at Abbey Road Studios was released in Japan on 15 September 2010 by Square Enix and in Germany on 17 September 2010 by the Universal Music Group label Decca Records.[18][19] The CD entered the Media Control Charts Germany (Classic Top-20 Charts) for sales in September 2010 at position No. 13.[20]

Symphonic Legends

Main article: Symphonic Legends

Symphonic Fantasies was met with considerable praise and feedback from attendants, causing the announcement of another Symphonic Game Music Concert entitled Symphonic Legends.[8][21] Taking place in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall on 23 September 2010 (Nintendo was founded on 23 September 1889), the complete concert was conducted by Niklas Willén for the first time, whereas Jonne Valtonen again served as main arranger and as composer of the opening piece called "Fanfare for the Common 8-bit Hero".[22][23] Additional music was contributed by Roger Wanamo and guest arrangers Shiro Hamaguchi, Hayato Matsuo, Masashi Hamauzu and Torsten Rasch.[24] The event focused on music from Nintendo and featured the titles Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Galaxy, Donkey Kong Country, Metroid, F-Zero, StarFox, Pikmin and The Legend of Zelda.[25] Tickets for Symphonic Legends sold out on 19 March 2010.[26] In addition to the performance, the concert saw a live radio broadcast on WDR4 in 5.1 surround sound, a world-wide live audio streaming and live video streaming, available in Germany.[27][28]

Symphonic Odysseys

Main article: Symphonic Odysseys

On 9 July 2011, the WDR Radio Orchestra presented Symphonic Odysseys at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne. The concert exclusively paid homage to the work of composer Nobuo Uematsu.[18] Tickets went on sale 1 December 2010 and sold out within 12 hours,[29] prompting the producers to announce a second concert to be performed at 3 p.m. on the same day.[30] With both concerts sold out, Symphonic Odysseys marked the biggest video game music event in Germany so far.[31]

Final Symphony

Main article: Final Symphony

Chamber music and school concerts

The Chamber Music Game Concerts (German: Kammermusik-Spielekonzerte) performed by a string ensemble and the school concerts Heroes of our Imagination (German: Helden unserer Phantasie) and Super Mario Galaxy – A Musical Adventure (German: Super Mario Galaxy – Ein musikalisches Abenteuer) are three subseries of events also produced by Thomas Böcker.[8]

The free of charge First Chamber Music Game Concert in 2005 was held as part of the gaming tournament GC-Cup at the Augustusplatz in Leipzig,[32] while the latter two took place in 2006, alongside a GC – Games Convention press conference event and the historical exhibition Nintendo – Vom Kartenspiel zum Game Boy of the Landesmuseum Koblenz.[33]

The four school concerts Heroes of Imagination in 2006 were intended to show differences and similarities between classical music and game music and to make orchestra concerts more accessible to a younger audience.[33] They were supported by Nintendo, Square Enix and Sega.[34] In January 2010, five additional school concerts were performed by the same orchestra. The series was entitled Super Mario Galaxy – A Musical Adventure and was the spiritual successor to the well-received Heroes of Imagination events.[35][36] Modeled after and acting as a modern-day Peter and the Wolf, the musical segments of the concerts were interspersed with narrations of the storyline of Super Mario Galaxy,[35] with the performances having been officially licensed and sponsored by Nintendo.[35]

Discography

Orchestrations and Production
Year Title Credits Composers
2000 Merregnon Soundtrack Volume 1 Executive Producer, Project Director Fabian Del Priore, Jonne Valtonen, Jogeir Liljedahl, Allister Brimble, Olof Gustafsson, Rudolf Stember, Markus Holler, Gustaf Grefberg, Jason Chong, Chris Hülsbeck
2004 Merregnon Soundtrack Volume 2 Executive Producer, Project Director Fabian Del Priore, Gustaf Grefberg, Yuzo Koshiro, Olof Gustafsson, Jonne Valtonen, Allister Brimble, Markus Holler, Andy Brick, Chris Hülsbeck
2005 Wangan MIDNIGHT MAXIMUMTUNE 2 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK Special Thanks Yuzo Koshiro
2006 Immortal 3 Producer (Pinball Dreams, Pinball Fantasies) Chris Hülsbeck, Bjørn Lynne, Tim Follin, and many others.
2007 Vielen Dank Production Coordinator, Translation Masashi Hamauzu
Wangan MIDNIGHT MAXIMUMTUNE 3 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK Special Thanks Yuzo Koshiro
2008 drammatica -The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura- Production Coordinator, Translation Yoko Shimomura
Musica e WCCF secondo movimento Music Coordinator, Producer, Co-director, Translation Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
2010 LORD of ARCANA ORIGINAL SOUND COLLECTION Coordinator Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui, Satoshi Henmi
2012 Dragon's Dogma Original Soundtrack Music Orchestration, Supervision, Coordinator Tadayoshi Makino, Inon Zur, Rei Kondoh, Chamy.Ishi
Concert recordings
Year Title Composers Publisher
2008 Symphonic Shades Chris Hülsbeck synSONIQ Records
2010 Symphonic Fantasies Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoko Shimomura, Hiroki Kikuta Decca (EU), Square Enix (JP)
2011 Symphonic Odysseys Nobuo Uematsu Dog Ear Records (JP), MAZ Sound Tools (EU)
2012 Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoko Shimomura, Hiroki Kikuta MAZ Sound Tools (EU)

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 Thomas Böcker (24 November 2003). "The Making Of The First Symphonic Game Music Concert In Europe". Gamasutra. Think Services. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Claudia Friedrich (23 August 2008). "Partituren für PC – Die virtuose Musik der Computerspiele". Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 Sophia Tong (9 September 2010). "Sound Byte: Symphonic Game Music Concerts". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 Frederik Hanssen (20 September 2010). "Von der Konsole auf den Konzertflügel". Tagesspiegel. ZEIT. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  5. ↑ "Geschäftsbericht – Geschäftsjahr 2002" (PDF). Leipziger Messe GmbH. 17 March 2003. Retrieved 6 January 2009.
  6. ↑ "The Team". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
  7. ↑ "The Orchestras". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Concert Programs". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  9. ↑ "Chris Huelsbeck in Concert". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. 4 December 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2008.
  10. ↑ "Takenobu Mitsuyoshi arrangiert für Symphonic Shades". Symphonic Shades. Merregnon Studios. 10 March 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  11. ↑ "Termin für Zusatzkonzert bekanntgegeben". Symphonic Shades. Merregnon Studios. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2008.
  12. ↑ "Symphonic Shades-Konzerte restlos ausverkauft". Symphonic Shades. Merregnon Studios. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2008.
  13. ↑ "Symphonic Shades live im Radio". Symphonic Shades. Merregnon Studios. 25 July 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2008.
  14. ↑ Robert Dietrich (29 February 2008). "Interview mit Thomas Böcker". Stereology. Retrieved 22 March 2008.
  15. ↑ "Fünf (weitere) Fragen an: Winfried Fechner". Symphonic Shades. Merregnon Studios. 9 September 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008.
  16. ↑ "Symphonic Fantasies sold out". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. 2 April 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
  17. ↑ "Special announcement by Arnie Roth". Symphonic Fantasies. Merregnon Studios. Archived from the original on September 15, 2009. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  18. 1 2 Chris Greening (22 March 2010). "Interview with WDR Radio Orchestra Manager Winfried Fechner Part 2". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  19. ↑ Chris Greening (10 July 2010). "Official: Symphonic Fantasies CD Available for Pre-Order". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  20. ↑ media control (19 October 2010). "media control Verkaufscharts". klassik.com. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
  21. ↑ "New video game music concert announced". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. 25 September 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  22. ↑ "Details zu Symphonic Legends bekanntgegeben". Symphonic Shades. Merregnon Studios. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  23. ↑ "Fanfare for the Common 8-bit Hero". Symphonic Fantasies. Merregnon Studios. 9 April 2010. Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
  24. ↑ Chris Greening (11 April 2010). "Masashi Hamauzu Arranges for Symphonic Legends". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
  25. ↑ "Program and Broadcast Details for Symphonic Legends". Square Enix Music Online. July 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  26. ↑ "Symphonic Legends – music from Nintendo". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  27. ↑ "Übertragung per Livestream". 4Players.de. July 2010. Retrieved 19 July 2010.
  28. ↑ "Interview with Symphonic Legends Producer (September 2010)". SEMO. September 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010.
  29. ↑ "Symphonic Odysseys – Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu". symphonicshades.com. December 2010. Retrieved 21 December 2010.
  30. ↑ "Zusatzveranstaltung Symphonic Odysseys – Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu". VGMConcerts.com. January 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2011.
  31. ↑ "In der Lounge: Interview mit Thomas Böcker". VGM Lounge. July 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
  32. ↑ "New concert announced today". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. 4 July 2005. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  33. 1 2 "Thomas Boecker Interview Part 3: Other Concert Innovations". Square Enix Music Online. April 2007. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  34. ↑ "School concerts featuring video game music announced". Symphonic Game Music Concerts. Merregnon Studios. 16 January 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  35. 1 2 3 "Super Mario Galaxy School Concerts Announced". Square Enix Music Online. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  36. ↑ "Schulkonzert "Super Mario Galaxy – Ein musikalisches Abenteuer". Neue Elbland Philharmonie. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  37. ↑ "3rd Annual OSVOSTOTY 2011 Awards: Winners and Runners-Up Announced". Original Sound Version. February 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2012.
  38. ↑ "Annual Game Music Awards of 2011 :: Outstanding Production – Concert Winners". SEMO. December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  39. ↑ "RPGFan Feature – Games of 2010: Patrick Gann's Awards". RPGFan. January 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2011.
  40. ↑ "2nd Annual OSVOSTOTY 2010 Awards: Winners and Runners-Up Announced". Original Sound Version. January 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  41. ↑ "Annual Game Music Awards of 2010 :: Best Album Winners". SEMO. December 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  42. ↑ "Auszeichnung für Symphonic Legends – music from Nintendo". VGMConcerts.com. November 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2010.
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