Thomas Böcker (born October 8, 1977) is a German producer. He is the founder of ''

Merregnon Studios ''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 founde ...

'' and creative director of his orchestral music projects ''

Merregnon ''Merregnon'' is a series of works that blend orchestral music with fantasy fiction. Since its inception in 1999, the project has produced several albums and live concert performances. The third part is ''Merregnon: Land of Silence'', which premiere ...

'' and ''Game Concerts''. In 2003, he produced the first live orchestra performance of

video game music Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to ...

outside Japan at the

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The f ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, Germany, which led to his international series ''Game Concerts'', including the ''

Final Symphony ''Final Symphony'' is a symphonic concert tour first held at the Historische Stadthalle Wuppertal in Wuppertal (Germany) on May 11, 2013. Between then and 2018 it included 22 performances worldwide. The concert tour features arrangements of video ...

'' world tour from 2013, the first performance of video game music by the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, and from 2021 the symphonic fairy tale ''Merregnon: Land of Silence'', premiered by the

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( sv, Kungliga Filharmonikerna or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. Hi ...

. Thomas Böcker was presented with the national ''Cultural and Creative Pilots Award'' by the

German Federal Government The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...

, which recognises outstanding entrepreneurs within Germany’s cultural and creative industries.

Early life

Thomas Böcker grew up in the small mountain town of Lauenstein in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

. During the 80s, his father was allowed to travel to the western part of Germany to visit his own mother and brought back a ''

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

'' for the family. For this reason, Böcker already had access to a home computer at the age of 7. Soon enough, he developed a passion for video game music and became especially fond of

Chris Huelsbeck Christopher Hülsbeck (born 2 March 1968), known internationally as Chris Huelsbeck, is a German video game music composer. He gained popularity for his work on game soundtracks for ''The Great Giana Sisters'' and the ''Turrican'' series. Career ...

’s works on the ''

Turrican ''Turrican'' is a 1990 video game developed by Manfred Trenz. It was developed for the Commodore 64 by Rainbow Arts, and was ported to other systems later. In addition to concept design and character creation, Trenz programmed ''Turrican'' on th ...

'' series. Böcker's love of video game and classical music would soon come together, as he realised the potential for scores and concerts to feature orchestral game music.

Concert productions

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 An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the Leipzig ''

Games Convention The Games Convention (GC), sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention, 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. Its concep ...

'', performed by the

Czech National Symphony Orchestra The Czech National Symphony Orchestra (ČNSO or CNSO) ( cs, Český národní symfonický orchestr) is a Czech symphony orchestra based in Prague. The orchestra principally gives concerts at the Smetana Hall, Municipal House (''Smetanova síň ...

at the Gewandhaus Leipzig, promoted by the ''

Leipzig Trade Fair The Leipzig Trade Fair (german: Leipziger Messe) is a major trade fair, which traces its roots back for nearly a millennium. After the Second World War, Leipzig fell within the territory of East Germany, whereupon the Leipzig Trade Fair became o ...

''. 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. A large number of composers took part in the events and the associated autograph sessions, including

Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Jo ...

Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese composer and sound programmer. He is often regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune and video game music, producing music in a number of genres including rock, jazz, symphonic, and various electronic genres ...

, Chris Huelsbeck,

Rob Hubbard Rob Hubbard (born 1955 in Kingston upon Hull, England) is a British composer best known for his musical and programming work for microcomputers of the 1980s, such as the Commodore 64. Early life Hubbard first started playing music at age seve ...

and

Allister Brimble Allister Brimble is a British video game music composer. He began composing music and sound effects for the video game industry in the mid-1980s. He also produced various audio tracks, as "Brimble's Beats", that were distributed on cover disks ...

Game Concerts in Cologne (2008 - 2012)

'' Symphonic Shades – Hülsbeck'' ''in Concert'' in honour of German composer Chris Hülsbeck was the first of five annual concerts by the WDR Funkhausorchester dedicated to music from video games. It took place twice at the Funkhaus Wallrafplatz in Cologne on 23 August 2008, for which Böcker worked as producer, as he did for the subsequent projects. ''Symphonic Shades'' was the first concert with game music to be broadcast live on the radio on ''WDR4''. An album release of the recording was made in the same year (via synSONIQ Records). ''Symphonic Fantasies – Music from Square Enix'' was dedicated to music by the Japanese game developer ''

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...

''. The performance on 12 September 2009, like the following WDR performances, took place at the

Kölner Philharmonie The Kölner Philharmonie is a symphonic concert hall located in Cologne, Germany. It is part of the building assemble of the Museum Ludwig and was opened in 1986. The Kölner Philharmonie is located close to the Cologne Cathedral and the Cologn ...

. It was broadcast live on the radio on ''WDR4'' and was the first concert of the genre to be streamed online as a live video. In 2012, five more concerts were performed in Tokyo, Stockholm and again in Cologne, and in 2016 additionally at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

in London with the London Symphony Orchestra. Albums have been released of concert recordings from both Cologne (via ''

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

'') and Tokyo (via ''X5Music/Merregnon Records''). '' Symphonic Legends – Music from Nintendo'' took place on 23 September 2010, focusing on video game music by the Japanese game developer ''

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

''. The performance ''LEGENDS'' on 1 June 2011, presented by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the

Stockholm Concert Hall The Stockholm Concert Hall ( sv, Stockholms konserthus) is the main hall for orchestral music in Stockholm, Sweden. With a design by Ivar Tengbom chosen in competition, inaugurated in 1926, the Hall is home to the Royal Stockholm Philharmoni ...

, was partly based on arrangements from ''Symphonic Legends''. On 13 July 2014, the London Symphony Orchestra performed the symphonic poem to ''The Legend of Zelda'' from this programme. '' Symphonic Odysseys — Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu'' was a tribute to the Japanese composer

. The programme was performed twice by the WDR Funkhausorchester on 9 July 2011. There were also performances in June 2017 by the London Symphony Orchestra: on 18 June at the

Philharmonie de Paris The Philharmonie de Paris () ( en, Paris Philharmonic) is a complex of concert halls in Paris, France. The buildings also house exhibition spaces and rehearsal rooms. The main buildings are all located in the Parc de la Villette at the northeaste ...

and on 20 June at the Barbican Centre. A recording of the concerts in Cologne was released as a double album by

Dog Ear Records Dog Ear Records is a music production company and record label founded by composer Nobuo Uematsu in November 2006. The company publishes video game soundtracks and original albums on disc and digitally through iTunes. The website includes community ...

Game Concerts worldwide (from 2013)

'' is a concert production by Thomas Böcker that includes music from ''

Final Fantasy VI also known as ''Final Fantasy III'' from its initial North American release, is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Final Fantasy'' s ...

VII VII or vii may refer to: the Roman numeral 7 Art and entertainment * The Vii, a video game console * vii, leading-tone triad, see diminished triad * ''VII'' (Blitzen Trapper album) * ''VII'' (Just-Ice album) * ''VII'' (Teyana Taylor album) * ...

'' and ''X''. The world premiere was performed by the Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal on 11 May 2013, with a further concert on 30 May 2013 with the London Symphony Orchestra. The programme subsequently toured the world with performances in Japan, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, the USA, New Zealand, China, Austria and Australia. A ''Final Symphony'' studio album was released in 2015, a recording with the London Symphony Orchestra at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

. The world premiere of ''

Final Symphony II ''Final Symphony II'' was a symphonic concert tour first held at the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, Germany on August 29, 2015, and continuing through 2019. The concert performances featured arrangements of video game music selected from the ''Final Fa ...

,'' featuring music from ''

Final Fantasy V is a fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Square in 1992. It is the fifth main installment of the ''Final Fantasy'' series. The game first appeared only in Japan on Nintendo's Super Famicom (known internationally as the Su ...

, VIII, IX and

XIII XIII may refer to: * 13 (number) or XIII in Roman numerals * 13th century in Roman numerals * XIII (comics), ''XIII'' (comics), a Belgian comic book series by Jean Van Hamme and William Vance ** XIII (2003 video game), ''XIII'' (2003 video game), a ...

'', took place on 29 August 2015 at the

Beethovenhalle The Beethovenhalle () is a concert hall in Bonn. It is the third hall in that city to bear the name of Bonn-born composer Ludwig van Beethoven. History The first Beethovenhalle was a temporary structure built in 1845 during the inauguration of ...

in Bonn, Germany, performed by the

Beethoven Orchester Bonn The Beethoven Orchester Bonn is a German symphony orchestra based in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia. It dates back to 1907, when a professional orchestra was established. Named for Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in Bonn, the orchestra's princ ...

, followed by four performances in September and October 2015 by the London Symphony Orchestra in London, Osaka and twice in Yokohama. In addition to events in Germany, the UK and Japan, ''Final Symphony II'' was also presented in Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. ''Symphonic Memories – Music from Square Enix'', featuring video game music from Japanese game developer ''Square Enix'', was premiered by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the Stockholm Concert Hall on 9 June 2018. Other events took place in Finland, Switzerland, Japan and Germany. The concerts in Japan were recorded and released as a double album by ''Square Enix'''s music label. In 2021, for the tenth anniversary of ''

Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a division of Media Technology Limited, and in 1999 became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. In its ...

action role-playing game

Skyrim ''The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in ''The Elder Scrolls'' series, following 2006's '' The Elder Scrol ...

, Böcker produced a concert film featuring the London Symphony Orchestra and

London Voices London Voices is a London-based choral ensemble founded by Terry Edwards (1939-2022) in 1973. In its early years, it also incorporated the London Opera Chorus and London Sinfonietta Voices and Chorus. In 2004, Ben Parry, became co-director of th ...

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

in London. The video was released on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

on 11 November 2021, shortly followed by a music album.

Merregnon: Land of Silence (from 2021)

''Merregnon: Land of Silence'' is a symphonic fairy tale with music composed by

Yoko Shimomura is a Japanese composer and pianist primarily known for her work in video games. She graduated from the Osaka College of Music in 1988 and began working in the video game industry by joining Capcom the same year. She wrote music for several game ...

. It was produced by Thomas Böcker to introduce young people and families to orchestral music in the tradition of

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и Bолк, r="Pétya i volk", p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk, links=no) Op. 67, a "symphonic fairy tale for children", is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children's s ...

, with modern means adopting a game and anime aesthetic. The work was premiered and filmed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the Stockholm Concert Hall in June 2021. On 10 September of the same year, the video was published on the orchestra's website. From 2022 onwards, worldwide performances have been announced with orchestras such as the

Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (OCL, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra) is a Swiss chamber orchestra of around 40 musicians based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It has a vast repertoire, from the earliest baroque to contemporary premieres. The founder Vi ...

, the

Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz The Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz (State Philharmonic of Rhineland-Palatinate) is the largest and leading symphony orchestra of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. It gives concerts in Rhineland-Palatin ...

and, once again, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

Recordings (selection)

* 2021 ''Skyrim 10th Anniversary Concert'' (Bethesda Softworks, Producer) * 2021 ''Merregnon: Land of Silence'' (Merregnon Studios, Producer) * 2021 ''Albion Online'' (Sandbox Interactive, Project coordinator) * 2020 ''Symphonic Memories Concert'' (live concert album, Square Enix, Production consultant) * 2020 ''

PUBG MOBILE ''PUBG Mobile'' ( Chinese: 和平精英; pinyin: Hé Píng Jīng Yīng) is a free-to-play battle royale video game developed by LightSpeed & Quantum Studio, a division of Tencent Games. It is a mobile game adaptation of '' PUBG: Battlegrounds ...

— Theme Music, Orchestral Version'' ( Bluehole, Project coordinator) * 2017 ''Turrican — Orchestral Selections'' (Chris Huelsbeck Productions, Co-producer) * 2016 ''Turrican II — The Orchestral Album'' (Chris Huelsbeck Productions, Co-producer) * 2015 ''Final Symphony — music from Final Fantasy VI, VII and X'' (Merregnon Studios/Square Enix/X5 Music Group, Producer) * 2012 ''Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo'' (live concert album, Merregnon Studios/Square Enix, Producer) * 2010 ''Symphonic Fantasies — music from Square Enix'' (live concert album,

/Square Enix, Producer) * 2010 ''Benyamin Nuss Plays Uematsu'' (

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

, Production consultant) * 2008 ''Symphonic Shades — Hülsbeck in concert'' (live concert album, Merregnon Studios, Producer) * 2008 ''drammatica — Yoko Shimomura'' (Square Enix, Project coordinator) * 2007 ''Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy'' (AWR Music/Square Enix, Production consultant) * 2007 ''Vielen Dank — Masashi Hamauzu'' (Square Enix, Project coordinator) * 2007 ''World Club Championship Football'' (Sega, Project coordinator) * 2005 '' S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl'' (

THQ THQ Inc. was an American video game company based in Agoura Hills, California. It was founded in April 1990 by Jack Friedman, originally in Calabasas, and became a public company the following year through a reverse merger takeover. Initi ...

, Project coordinator) * 2004 ''Merregnon — Volume 2'' (Merregnon Studios, Producer)

Awards (selection)

* 2020 Best Album - Official Arranged Album: ''Symphonic Memories Concert – music from Square Enix'', Annual Game Music Awards 2020 * 2015 Best Album - Arranged Album: ''Final Symphony – music from Final Fantasy'', Annual Game Music Awards 2015 * 2015 Outstanding Entrepreneurship - ''Cultural and Creative Pilots Award'', German Federal Government * 2015 First person to produce a video game concert outside Japan: ''Thomas Böcker'',

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

* 2013 Outstanding Production - Concert: ''Final Symphony London – music from Final Fantasy'', Annual Game Music Awards 2013 * 2012 Outstanding Production - Concert: ''Symphonic Fantasies Tokyo – music from Square Enix'', Annual Game Music Awards 2012 * 2011 Outstanding Production - Concert: ''Symphonic Odysseys – Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu'', Annual Game Music Awards 2011 * 2011 Best Live Concert: ''Symphonic Odysseys – Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu'', Annual Original Sound Version Awards 011 * 2011 Best Live Concert: ''Symphonic Legends – music from Nintendo'', Annual Original Sound Version 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

References

External links

*Thomas Böcker's official website

*Game Concerts website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bocker, Thomas Living people 1977 births People from Dohna German producers Businesspeople from Dresden