Calgary Phil takes on gaming with legend composer Eímear Noone

Cementing the connection between crescendo and boss fight, on March 28, award‑winning video game composer and conductor Eímear Noone will lead the Calgary Philharmonic in Gamesymphonic.

Eímear Noone is the composer behind a slew of well-loved video game scores, including World of Warcraft. She is also known for being the first woman to conduct at the Academy Awards.

The program for this show is her personal selection, and Noone programs with four different types of people in mind. Die-hard gamers, game music fans, families trying to introduce kids to orchestra, and of course, subscription holders.

“So it is quite common to see three generations of one family.  And I absolutely love that,” she says, “I make sure that if you come to one of these concerts, you don’t need to know anything about video games. You just need to sit back, close your eyes and enjoy.”

Any fan of gaming will tell you that soundtracks are an integral part of the story experience. In many games, the music shifts with the decisions you make, making it almost another character.  In that way, gamers have been almost conditioned into loving orchestral music. Players spend weeks of their life in a game world- compared to movie universes which only hold you for an hour or two.

“Gamers are listening to so much orchestral music all the time,” Noone says seeing it live though, is another level. “They feel great about the fact that something as eminent and prestigious as their local symphony orchestra will play their music.”

Those soundtracks tend to not only echo the active gameplay, but memories of friends past and times past. Noone says some of the more touching stories she hears from fans are from those who associate certain scores with people who are no longer here or with a specific chapter of their lives.

“It is like the olfactory senses. You get a certain scent and you are right back somewhere instantly,” she says.

Behind the curtain of composing for games — yes, she gets to play them.

“We do get to try out the games when we are working on them,” she laughs and admits designers also let her cheat- and her kids keep her honest about her gaming skills. “They tell me I am rubbish.”

Gamesymphonic is March 28^th at the Jubilee. Tickets can be found here.

Expect a program inspired by the following games. Civilization VI, Hades, Kingdom Hearts, Mario + Rabbids, League of Legends, The Halo Trilogy, Chrono Cross: Radical Dreamers, World of Warcraft, Psychonauts 2, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, Sea of Thieves, Resident Evil V, Call of Duty WWII, Fortnite, Baldur’s Gate: The Dark Alliance II, and Towerborne.