Merregnon Studios
TypeConcert and orchestra recording production
IndustryVideo games, orchestra, recording
Founded1999
HeadquartersDresden, Germany 51°03′07″N 13°44′28″E / 51.0520515°N 13.7410747°E / 51.0520515; 13.7410747
Key people
Thomas Böcker
The participants of Symphonic Fantasies after the performance of the concert

Merregnon Studios is a company based in Dresden, Germany, founded by Thomas Böcker. It produces recordings and concerts worldwide, including the orchestral Merregnon and Game Concerts series.

History

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 storytelling arrangements and scores.[1] The earliest example of his vision came with the first volume in the Merregnon CD series in 2000.[2] His role as executive producer and project director provided him with contacts to conductors, orchestras and composers from around the world,[3] and he began to develop the concept of a 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 in 2003,[4][5] the Symphonic Game Music Concert during the Games Convention in Leipzig, the first trade fair for video games in Europe. The success of the event led to his ongoing international series Game Concerts.

Besides concert productions, Merregnon Studios has produced and directed numerous orchestral video game music recordings and albums including Masashi's Hamauzu's debut album Vielen Dank,[6] SEGA's World Club Champion Football,[7] Square Enix's drammatica -The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura[8] and Bethesda Softworks' 10th Anniversary Concert for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.[9]

Game Concerts in Leipzig (2003 - 2007)

On August 20, 2003 Thomas Böcker produced his first Game Concert as a part of the official opening ceremony of the Leipzig Games Convention, performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra at the Gewandhaus Leipzig, promoted by the Leipzig Trade Fair. Following the success of the event, further four annual concerts with various programmes took place under his direction until 2007, performed by the FILMharmonic Orchestra Prague.

Game Concerts in Cologne (2008 - 2012)

Symphonic Shades – Hülsbeck in Concert (2008) in honour of German composer Chris Hülsbeck was the first of five annual concerts by the WDR Funkhausorchester featuring music from video games, followed by Symphonic Fantasies – Music from Square Enix (2009 and 2012), dedicated to music by the Japanese game developer Square Enix.

Symphonic Legends – Music from Nintendo (2010) focused on video game music by the Japanese game developer Nintendo, while Symphonic Odysseys — Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu (2011) was a tribute to the Japanese composer Nobuo Uematsu.

Game Concerts worldwide (from 2013)

Final Symphony (2013) is a concert production featuring music from Final Fantasy VI, VII and X. The world premiere was performed by the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal. Shortly after, the programme embarked on a world tour including the first performance of game music by the London Symphony Orchestra. The debut concert of Final Symphony II (2015) with music from Final Fantasy V, VIII, IX and XIII was presented by the Beethoven Orchester Bonn.

Symphonic Memories – Music from Square Enix (2018) including video game music by Square Enix was first presented by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2021, for the tenth anniversary of Bethesda Softworks' action role-playing game Skyrim, Böcker produced a concert film featuring the London Symphony Orchestra and London Voices. In 2023, he produced another film for the game Starfield, again with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Merregnon: Land of Silence (from 2021)

Merregnon: Land of Silence (2021) is a symphonic fairy tale with music by Yoko Shimomura. It was produced by Thomas Böcker to introduce young people and families to orchestral music through modern means, using a game and anime aesthetic. The work was premiered and filmed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra before embarking on a world-tour.

Merregnon: Heart of Ice (2024)

Merregnon: Heart of Ice (2024) was first announced on April 20, 2023. The music is composed by Nobuo Uematsu. The world premiere is scheduled for February 29, 2024 in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz presenting the music.

Discography

Orchestrations and Production
YearTitleCreditsComposers
2000Merregnon Soundtrack Volume 1Executive Producer, Project DirectorFabian Del Priore, Jonne Valtonen, Jogeir Liljedahl, Allister Brimble, Olof Gustafsson, Rudolf Stember, Markus Holler, Gustaf Grefberg, Jason Chong, Chris Hülsbeck
2004Merregnon Soundtrack Volume 2Executive Producer, Project DirectorFabian Del Priore, Gustaf Grefberg, Yuzo Koshiro, Olof Gustafsson, Jonne Valtonen, Allister Brimble, Markus Holler, Andy Brick, Chris Hülsbeck
2005Wangan MIDNIGHT MAXIMUMTUNE 2 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACKSpecial ThanksYuzo Koshiro
2006Immortal 3Producer (Pinball Dreams, Pinball Fantasies)Chris Hülsbeck, Bjørn Lynne, Tim Follin, and many others.
2007Vielen DankProduction Coordinator, TranslationMasashi Hamauzu
Wangan MIDNIGHT MAXIMUMTUNE 3 ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACKSpecial ThanksYuzo Koshiro
Distant WorldsProduction ConsultantNobuo Uematsu
2008drammatica -The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura-Production Coordinator, TranslationYoko Shimomura
Musica e WCCF secondo movimentoProduction Coordinator, TranslationTakenobu Mitsuyoshi
2010LORD of ARCANA ORIGINAL SOUND COLLECTIONCoordinatorNobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui, Satoshi Henmi
Distant Worlds IIProduction ConsultantNobuo Uematsu
2012Dragon's Dogma Original SoundtrackMusic Orchestration, Supervision, CoordinatorTadayoshi Makino, Inon Zur, Rei Kondoh, Chamy.Ishi
2013 Turrican Soundtrack Anthology Co-Producer Chris Hülsbeck
2016 Turrican II - The Orchestral Album Co-Producer Chris Hülsbeck
Albion OnlineOrchestra Production CoordinatorJonne Valtonen
2017 Turrican - Orchestral Selections Co-Producer Chris Hülsbeck
2018 Turrican - Rise of the Machine Co-Producer Chris Hülsbeck
2019 PUBG - Erangel Orchestra Production Coordinator PUBG Corporation / Tencent
2020 PUBG Mobile - Theme Music, Orchestral Version Production Coordinator PUBG Corporation / Tencent
2021 Albion Online Orchestra Production Coordinator Jonne Valtonen, Marie Havemann
Concert recordings
YearTitleCreditsPublisher
2008Symphonic ShadesCreator, Executive ProducersynSONIQ Records
2010Symphonic FantasiesCreator, Executive ProducerDecca, Square Enix
2011Symphonic OdysseysCreator, ConsultantDog Ear Records
2012Symphonic Fantasies TokyoCreator, Executive ProducerMAZ Sound Tools, X5Music, Laced Records, Merregnon Records
2015 Final Symphony Creator, Executive Producer X5Music, Square Enix, Merregnon Records
2020 Symphonic Memories Creator, Consultant Square Enix
2021 Merregnon: Land of Silence Creator, Director, Executive Producer Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Merregnon Studios
2021 Skyrim 10th Anniversary Concert Producer Bethesda Softworks
2023 Final Symphony II Creator, Executive Producer Merregnon Records
2023 Starfield - A Night with the London Symphony Orchestra Producer Bethesda Softworks

Awards

  • 2010 Best Concert: Symphonic Legends - music from Nintendo, Swedish LEVEL magazine[10]
  • 2010 Best Arranged Album - Solo / Ensemble: Symphonic Fantasies - music from Square Enix, Annual Game Music Awards 2010[11]
  • 2011 Best Live Concert: Symphonic Legends – music from Nintendo, Annual Original Sound Version Awards 2010[12]
  • 2011 Best Live Concert: Symphonic Odysseys – Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu, Annual Original Sound Version Awards 2011
  • 2011 Outstanding Production – Concert: Symphonic Odysseys – Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu, Annual Game Music Awards 2011[13]
  • 2012 Outstanding Production - Concert: Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo - music from Square Enix, Annual Game Music Awards 2012[14]
  • 2013 Outstanding Production - Concert: Final Symphony London - music from Final Fantasy, Annual Game Music Awards 2013[15]
  • 2015 First person to produce a video game concert outside Japan: Thomas Böcker, Guinness World Records[4][16]
  • 2015 Outstanding Entrepreneurship - Cultural and Creative Pilots Award: Thomas Böcker, German Federal Government[17]
  • 2015 Best Album - Arranged Album: Final Symphony - music from Final Fantasy, Annual Game Music Awards 2015[18]
  • 2020 Best Album - Official Arranged Album: Symphonic Memories Concert – music from Square Enix, Annual Game Music Awards 2020[19]

References

  1. ↑ Sorlie, Audun (2013-05-06). "Symphonic Memories: Tales of Merregnon Studios (Part 1)". Game Developer. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  2. ↑ "MRRG1 | Merregnon Soundtrack Volume 1". vgmdb.net. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
  3. ↑ Boecker, Thomas (2003-11-24). "The Making Of The First Symphonic Game Music Concert In Europe". Game Developer. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  4. 1 2 "First live videogame concert outside of Japan". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  5. ↑ "Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl". www.zeit.de. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  6. ↑ "SQEX-10098". vgmdb.net. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  7. ↑ "WM-0599 | Musica e WCCF secondo movimento". vgmdb.net. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  8. ↑ "SQEX-10112 | drammatica -The Very Best of Yoko Shimomura". vgmdb.net. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  9. ↑ Skyrim 10th Anniversary Concert – Full Performance, retrieved 2023-08-06
  10. ↑ "History - Game Concerts". www.gameconcerts.com. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  11. ↑ "Annual Game Music Awards 2010 Winners". VGMO -Video Game Music Online-. 2010-12-31. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  12. ↑ "2nd Annual OSVOSTOTY 2010 Awards: Winners and Runners-Up Announced". Original Sound Version. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  13. ↑ "Annual Game Music Awards 2011 Winners". VGMO -Video Game Music Online-. 2011-12-31. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  14. ↑ "Annual Game Music Awards 2012 Winners". VGMO -Video Game Music Online-. 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  15. ↑ "Annual Game Music Awards 2013 – Organisations of the Year". VGMO -Video Game Music Online-. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  16. ↑ "Final Symphony II's London show proves to be a record breaking night". Game Concerts. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  17. ↑ Dresden. "Bundesregierung zeichnet Dresdner Kreative aus". www.dresden.de (in German). Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  18. ↑ "Annual Game Music Awards 2015 – Albums of the Year". VGMO -Video Game Music Online-. 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
  19. ↑ "Annual Game Music Awards 2020 – Albums of the Year". VGMO -Video Game Music Online-. 2021-02-16. Retrieved 2022-06-12.
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