World of Warcraft composer to set the score at Inspirefest

22 Nov 2016

Eimear Noone, World of Warcraft composer. Costume by Claire Garvey. Image: Steve Humphreys

A music maestro bringing the art of classical music to blockbuster video games is the latest addition to the Inspirefest 2017 line-up.

In news that will be music to gamers’ ears, award-winning composer and conductor Eimear Noone will bring her unique talents to the Inspirefest stage in 2017.

A resident of California, Irishwoman Noone splits her time between composing new music for video games, feature films, television and commercials, and conducting classical concerts with a gaming twist.

She has now officially joined the diverse line-up of creators, entrepreneurs, investors and pioneers set for Inspirefest 2017, a festival of technology, science, design and the arts running from 6 to 8 July in Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin.

Inspirefest 2017

Whether in the studio or the concert hall, Noone has garnered star power and recognition among gaming music aficionados. Her credits list includes well-known titles such as Heroes of the Storm, StarCraft II, Overwatch and Diablo III, the last of which earned her a 2013 BAFTA nomination.

Noone is perhaps best known as the composer and conductor for the iconic World of Warcraft and its expansion, Warlords of Draenor, the latter of which won the 2014 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Video Game Score, and received nominations for numerous more awards besides.

As a conductor, Noone has toured with The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses, a full, four-movement symphony created from the themes of the beloved video game, Zelda. She can also be seen conducting in the series of 3D music videos Nintendo released with Zelda on its 3DS. These videos were filmed during the actual recording sessions for this Zelda game – the first time a game score had been filmed in 3D while it was being recorded.

Bringing new meaning to the term ‘classic video game’, Noone believes fans of World of Warcraft and Skyrim could just as easily be taken with the music of classical greats such as Stravinsky, Copland, Holst and many more.

She is currently touring as conductor of the record-setting show Video Games Live, featuring scores from video-game greats such as Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Tetris, Skyrim, Kingdom Hearts and, of course, World of Warcraft. The performance stimulates the eyes as well as the ears with synchronised cinematics and gameplay accompanying the music.

Eimear Noone, World of Warcraft composer

Costume by Claire Garvey. Image: Steve Humphreys

Video Games Live has been touring for 15 years, with Noone conducting performances in China, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Malaysia and more countries around the world. On 2 December, she will bring her own show – inspired by and in partnership with Video Games Live – to the National Concert Hall.

Video Games Classic will see Noone conducting the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra alongside a choir of massed voices and singers Sibéal Ní Chasaide and Sarah Shine. The show will feature video-game music from Debussy, Stravinsky and Mozart, as well as some of Noone’s own compositions from World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor.

Inspirefest is Silicon Republic’s international event connecting sci-tech professionals passionate about the future of STEM. Book now to get half-price Super Early Bird tickets before prices go up on 15 December.

Elaine Burke is the host of For Tech’s Sake, a co-production from Silicon Republic and The HeadStuff Podcast Network. She was previously the editor of Silicon Republic.

editorial@siliconrepublic.com