Thomas Böcker
Encyclopedia
Thomas Böcker is an award winning German producer
notable for his innovative works on numerous orchestral concerts, game scores, and album releases. He is most known for his work on the annual Symphonic Game Music Concerts initiated in 2003, historical for being the longest running and the first of their kind outside of Japan.
from a young age and regularly attended symphonic concerts. Like many others in Europe
, he grew up playing the Commodore 64
and Commodore Amiga computers. Soon enough, he developed a passion for video game music and became especially fond of Chris Huelsbeck’s works on the Turrican
series. Boecker’s love for both video game music and Classical artists would soon come together, as he realised the potential for scores and concerts to feature orchestral game music.
of the Leipzig Games Convention
with the First Symphonic Game Music Concert
. The event at the sold-out Gewandhaus
concert hall was the first of its kind outside of Japan and received ten minutes of standing ovations. His annual follow-up concerts gained even more popular and critical appraise with their numerous innovations, expansive programs, refined performances, and special guest appearances. In conjunction with this work, he brought orchestral game music around the world with leading roles on the highly successful concert tours PLAY! A Video Game Symphony
and Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy. He also inspired the use of game music for educational purposes, through creating the series of school concerts Heroes of our Imagination in 2006, with Super Mario Galaxy
– A Musical Adventure being its latest instalment.
Thomas Böcker has since developed a long-standing relationship with the WDR Radio Orchestra in Cologne
. This culminated in the best-selling concert performances Symphonic Shades – Huelsbeck in Concert (2008), Symphonic Fantasies – music from Square Enix
(2009), Symphonic Legends - music from Nintendo
(2010) and Symphonic Odysseys - Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu (2011) at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall. As a world's first, Böcker’s productions have been broadcast live to radio listeners worldwide by the WDR and have even been enjoyed internationally through live video streams.
In 2012, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
will perform two Symphonic Fantasies concerts at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan
concert hall in Tokyo, Japan, produced by Thomas Böcker.
Trilogy, a series of albums that tell a fantasy story through music. With their legendary composers, rich performances, and elaborate presentation, these albums have proved influential in East and West alike. Boecker has also accepted executive roles on numerous other album productions, including the Amiga’s Immortal series, Masashi Hamauzu
’s Vielen Dank and Yoko Shimomura
’s drammatica. He has also supervised the studio recordings of the concerts Distant Worlds and Distant Worlds II.
Thomas Böcker has been extensively involved in studio recordings of game music scores. He has attended the recording sessions of numerous Eastern and Western game scores through his long-standing collaboration with the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague. In addition, his own artists at Merregnon Studios have been commissioned to compose and arrange for titles such as THQ
’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Namco Bandai’s Mobile Suit Gundam Battlefield Record U.C. 0081, and Sega
’s World Club Championship Football.
The producer currently represents Merregnon Studios' award winning composer and arranger Jonne Valtonen
on a range of score and concert productions.
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
notable for his innovative works on numerous orchestral concerts, game scores, and album releases. He is most known for his work on the annual Symphonic Game Music Concerts initiated in 2003, historical for being the longest running and the first of their kind outside of Japan.
Early life
Thomas Böcker spent his childhood growing up in the small mountain town of Lauenstein. Coming from a family of teachers, he developed an appreciation for Classical musicClassical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
from a young age and regularly attended symphonic concerts. Like many others in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, he grew up playing the Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and Commodore Amiga computers. Soon enough, he developed a passion for video game music and became especially fond of Chris Huelsbeck’s works on the Turrican
Turrican
Turrican is a 1989 video game programmed and designed by Manfred Trenz. It was first developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, but was ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz personally programmed Turrican on the Commodore 64...
series. Boecker’s love for both video game music and Classical artists would soon come together, as he realised the potential for scores and concerts to feature orchestral game music.
Concert productions
In 2003, Thomas Böcker produced the opening ceremonyOpening ceremony
An opening ceremony is the official opening of a building or event. The opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup are huge events involving thousands of participants and watched by a massive worldwide audience. On a much smaller scale, some ceremonies mark the opening of a...
of the Leipzig Games Convention
Games Convention
The Games Convention, sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention and abbreviated as GC, was an annual video game event held in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides video games, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware, and Edutainment...
with the First Symphonic Game Music Concert
Symphonic Game Music Concert
The Symphonic Game Music Concerts 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 of Japan...
. The event at the sold-out Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus
Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, Germany. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. The first Gewandhaus was built in 1781 by architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe. The second opened on 11 December 1884, and was destroyed in the...
concert hall was the first of its kind outside of Japan and received ten minutes of standing ovations. His annual follow-up concerts gained even more popular and critical appraise with their numerous innovations, expansive programs, refined performances, and special guest appearances. In conjunction with this work, he brought orchestral game music around the world with leading roles on the highly successful concert tours PLAY! A Video Game Symphony
Play! A Video Game Symphony
PLAY! A Video Game Symphony is a concert series that features music from video games performed by a live orchestra. The concerts from 2006 to 2010 were conducted by Arnie Roth...
and Distant Worlds: Music From Final Fantasy. He also inspired the use of game music for educational purposes, through creating the series of school concerts Heroes of our Imagination in 2006, with Super Mario Galaxy
Super Mario Galaxy
is a 3D platform game developed by Nintendo EAD Tokyo and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It was released in most regions in November 2007, and is the third 3D original platformer in the Mario series, after Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. The game follows the protagonist, Mario, on a...
– A Musical Adventure being its latest instalment.
Thomas Böcker has since developed a long-standing relationship with the WDR Radio Orchestra in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. This culminated in the best-selling concert performances Symphonic Shades – Huelsbeck in Concert (2008), Symphonic Fantasies – music from Square Enix
Square Enix
is a Japanese video game and publishing company best known for its console role-playing game franchises, which include the Final Fantasy series, the Dragon Quest series, and the action-RPG Kingdom Hearts series...
(2009), Symphonic Legends - music from Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
(2010) and Symphonic Odysseys - Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu (2011) at the Cologne Philharmonic Hall. As a world's first, Böcker’s productions have been broadcast live to radio listeners worldwide by the WDR and have even been enjoyed internationally through live video streams.
In 2012, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
The claims to be the oldest classical orchestra in Japan, having been founded in Nagoya in 1911. It moved to Tokyo in 1938 and has some 166 members as of 2005....
will perform two Symphonic Fantasies concerts at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan
Tokyo Bunka Kaikan
The Tokyo Bunka Kaikan is a Japanese concert hall located in Ueno Park, Taito, Tokyo. It was built in 1961 and renovated in 1998-99. Its larger hall seats 2303 people, and its small hall seats 649. It is operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture.- External links :...
concert hall in Tokyo, Japan, produced by Thomas Böcker.
Orchestra recordings
Beyond game music concerts, Thomas Böcker is the creative mind behind the MerregnonMerregnon
Merregnon is a soundtrack CD project for which video game music composers contribute new titles. By writing orchestral music the artists tell a story taking place in a newly created fantasy-universe....
Trilogy, a series of albums that tell a fantasy story through music. With their legendary composers, rich performances, and elaborate presentation, these albums have proved influential in East and West alike. Boecker has also accepted executive roles on numerous other album productions, including the Amiga’s Immortal series, Masashi Hamauzu
Masashi Hamauzu
is a Japanese video game composer who was employed at Square Enix from 1996 to 2010. He is best known for his work on the Final Fantasy and SaGa series. Born into a musical family in Germany, Hamauzu was raised in Japan...
’s Vielen Dank and Yoko Shimomura
Yoko Shimomura
is a Japanese video game composer. She has been described as "the most famous female video game music composer in the world". She has worked in the video game music industry since graduating from Osaka College of Music in 1988...
’s drammatica. He has also supervised the studio recordings of the concerts Distant Worlds and Distant Worlds II.
Thomas Böcker has been extensively involved in studio recordings of game music scores. He has attended the recording sessions of numerous Eastern and Western game scores through his long-standing collaboration with the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague. In addition, his own artists at Merregnon Studios have been commissioned to compose and arrange for titles such as THQ
THQ
THQ Inc. is an American developer and publisher of video games. Founded in 1989 in the United States, the company develops products for video game consoles, handheld game systems, as well as for personal computers and wireless devices...
’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Namco Bandai’s Mobile Suit Gundam Battlefield Record U.C. 0081, and Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
’s World Club Championship Football.
The producer currently represents Merregnon Studios' award winning composer and arranger Jonne Valtonen
Jonne Valtonen
Jonne Valtonen is an award-winning Finnish composer, arranger and orchestrator. He is renowned for his contributions in the field of demoscene and video game music.- Life and early career :...
on a range of score and concert productions.
Concerts
- 2012 Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo — music from Square Enix (concert performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic OrchestraTokyo Philharmonic OrchestraThe claims to be the oldest classical orchestra in Japan, having been founded in Nagoya in 1911. It moved to Tokyo in 1938 and has some 166 members as of 2005....
) - 2011 Symphonic Odysseys — Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu (WDR concert dedicated to Nobuo Uematsu)
- 2011 LEGENDS — music from Nintendo (concert of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic OrchestraRoyal Stockholm Philharmonic OrchestraThe Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm.The orchestra was founded in 1902 as the Stockholm Concert Society . The orchestra became a permanent ensemble in 1914. Since 1926, it has been based in the Stockholm Concert Hall...
dedicated to the music of Nintendo) - 2010 Symphonic Legends — music from Nintendo (WDR concert dedicated to music of Nintendo)
- 2010 Super Mario Galaxy — A Musical Adventure (school concert tour featuring music from Super Mario Galaxy)
- 2009 Symphonic Fantasies — music from Square Enix (WDR concert dedicated to the music of Square Enix)
- 2008 Symphonic Shades — Hülsbeck in concert (WDR concert dedicated to Chris Hülsbeck)
- 2007 Fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert (Opening Ceremony of the Games Convention)
- 2006 Fourth Symphonic Game Music Concert (Opening Ceremony of the Games Convention)
- 2006 Chamber Music Game Concert (Opening Concert of Nintendo exhibitionExhibitionAn exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs...
) - 2006 Heroes of our Imagination (school concert tour featuring video game music and classical music)
- 2006 PLAY! A Video Game Symphony (world tour with video game music)
- 2005 Third Symphonic Game Music Concert (Opening Ceremony of the Games Convention)
- 2004 Second Symphonic Game Music Concert (Opening Ceremony of the Games Convention)
- 2003 First Symphonic Game Music Concert (Opening Ceremony of the Games Convention)
Consultation
- 2012 Symphonic Fantasies — music from Square Enix (WDR concert dedicated to the music of Square Enix)
- 2010 Benyamin Nuss Plays Uematsu (Solo piano album, Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
) - 2009 Sinfonia Drammatica (video game music concert featuring music from Yoko Shimomura and Chris Huelsbeck)
- 2008 PROMS: That's Sound, That's Rhythm (WDR crossoverCrossover (music)Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
concert, classic and video game music) - 2007 Distant Worlds — music from Final Fantasy (world tour featuring Final Fantasy music, consultant until 2011)
- 2006 PLAY! A Video Game Symphony (world tour featuring video game music, consultant until 2007)
Recordings
- 2010 Symphonic Fantasies — music from Square Enix (live concert album, Decca RecordsDecca RecordsDecca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
/Square Enix) - 2010 Distant Worlds II: more music from Final Fantasy (AWR Music/Square Enix)
- 2008 Symphonic Shades — Hülsbeck in concert (live concert album, Merregnon Studios)
- 2008 drammatica — Yoko Shimomura (Square Enix)
- 2007 Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy (AWR Music/Square Enix)
- 2007 Derby Owners Club 2008 Feel The Rush (Sega)
- 2007 Vielen Dank — Masashi Hamauzu (Square Enix)
- 2007 World Club Championship Football (Sega)
- 2005 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (THQ)
- 2002 Merregnon - Volume 2 (Merregnon Studios)
Awards
- 2011 Best RPG-Related Arranged Soundtrack: Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix, RPGFan Awards 2010
- 2010 Best Arranged Album - Solo / Ensemble: Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix, Annual Game Music Awards 2010
- 2010 Best Concert: Symphonic Legends - music from Nintendo, Swedish LEVEL magazine
External links
- Thomas Boecker's official website, http://www.thomasboecker.com
- Symphonic Game Music Concerts website, http://www.vgmconcerts.com
- Merregnon Trilogy website, http://www.merregnon.com