Gametech: Eimear Noone is hitting the right notes for gamers

EIMEAR NOONE isn’t inclined to blow her own trumpet — but at least she has four to choose from. “Blizzard finally gave me a fourth trumpet for Overwatch — that’s what Overwatch means to me. I’ve a one-track mind.”

Wed, 30 Nov, 2016 - 00:00

Ronan Jennings

A one-track mind couldn’t be further from the truth. Noone’s mind is overflowing with tracks, musical pieces that she and other great video game composers have written over the years. This Friday, the US-based Irish composer brings some of that music to Dublin, as she orchestrates the Video Games Classics show at the National Concert Hall. Despite the success of the touring show (more than 490 events have been performed worldwide) Noone still seems surprised at where her passion for orchestras has taken her.

“When I was in school, my job didn’t exist so it was my passion for orchestral music that led me to my first job on World of Warcraft,” she says. “Seeing the cinematics for that game, that’s what really made me want to go into video game music — it was just overwhelming. They were beautiful.”

Orchestrating for World of Warcraft was Noone’s first gig and she has also written music for the series, on the expansion Warlords of Draenor, but things have changed a lot since that first commission.

“No one knew if World of Warcraft would be successful or not,” she says. “The budget was really tight — but now we record at Skywalker Ranch [the home and workplace of George Lucas].”

Noone has been working with Blizzard for more than 10 years now, from World of Warcraft to this year’s Overwatch. She loves working with video games, citing the energy and passion the industry can bring to music.

“Huge, bombastic scores that require a giant orchestra and choirs — I’m like a kid in a candy store. I’ve followed my love of the orchestra to its most unimaginable conclusion.”

This Friday, Noone’s love takes a unique twist, as the Video Game Classics show is a little different to previous events. This time, video games scores and classical favourites will be played alongside one another, to illustrate how some of modern gaming’s music was inspired by the greats. So music from Resident Evil, Skyrim and Final Fantasy takes its place alongside Mozart’s Requiem, The Firebird and Carmina Burana. To Noone and her many composer friends, it’s important that video games have brought the world of orchestrated music to a whole new generation.

“People are listening to more orchestral music through their consoles that people have ever listened to symphonic music in history,” Noone says. “It’s crazy. World of Warcraft alone has had more than 100 million players and all of those players are listening to orchestral music on a daily basis.”

Not only that, but Video Games Live (to which Video Games Classic is related) has introduced people to the joys of a live orchestra, something that Noone is immensely proud about.

“Literally hundreds of thousands of people have heard orchestral music live for the first time because of Video Games Live,” she says. “When you consider at least 2,000 go to every show…”

When asked to pick a favourite piece of video game music, Noone refuses to answer.

“Oh, you can’t ask me that,” she says, laughing. “But I will say that the pieces I picked for the show on Friday are some of my favourites and I think each of those is fantastic.”

Noone has been away from Ireland for 11 years and has nothing but praise for the National Symphony Orchestra and how she has been welcomed back.

“This is a really cutting edge show and they have been so supportive,” she says. “It’s a first, and firsts are always difficult, but they have really welcomed it. All my colleagues in LA are sick of hearing about it — we’ve all done hundreds of concerts, but this is the one that everyone’s been hearing about, especially as I’ve chosen people who I really know have been influenced by classical music and love it.”

And how does it feel to be home, conducting the national orchestra, after so many years abroad?

“Performing for all of my friends and family is really important to me, really special. Having been to all these other countries, nothing compares to being home. This is the orchestra that I grew up watching and inspired me. It’s a special moment.”