LONDON, United Kingdom – June 23rd, 2003 – RICHARD JACQUES (www.richardjacques.com), the leading video game composer whose credits include Sega’s JET SET RADIO FUTURE and HEADHUNTER, today announced that his orchestral music for HEADHUNTER (PS2) and the forthcoming sequel HEADHUNTER: REDEMPTION (PS2, Xbox) will feature as a world premier suite performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra at Gewandhaus, Leipzig (www.gewandhaus.de) in Germany. The concert takes place during GC - Games Convention (www.gamesconvention.de), the European equivalent of E3, on August 20th, 2003. The event is being launched by the GC - Games Convention 2003 organizers as their opening ceremony and marks the first symphony concert to feature Western and Japanese game music.

Richard Jacques’ action score for HEADHUNTER was originally performed and recorded at Studio One, Abbey Road Studios with the London Session Orchestra (The Fifth Element, The Mummy, The World Is Not Enough). HEADHUNTER is widely recognized as the first Western game soundtrack to utilize the world famous recording studios and record with an orchestra usually associated with the film-scoring world.

"It was an easy pick for the concert", said event producer Thomas Boecker, "Richard’s work on HEADHUNTER is powerful, melodic, dynamic and superbly orchestrated. Combining a top-notch orchestral sound and programmed rhythm loops with other percussive elements, it perfectly reflects the vitality of today’s contemporary orchestral music in games. It is also a great example of how to reach a younger audience with classical music."

In March 2003, Jacques received the 2002 Game Audio Network Guild Recognition Award for HEADHUNTER at the 2003 Game Developers Conference in San Jose, California. Additionally, HEADHUNTER was nominated for 2002 Music of the Year, 2002 Best Live Performance Recording, and 2002 Best Instrumental Song ("Jack's Theme") by some of the top composers, producers and music supervisors in the games business. Game Industry News also nominated HEADHUNTER for 2002 Soundtrack of the Year.

The Performing Right Society (PRS) magazine noted: "Richard Jacques' majestic work on HEADHUNTER set the benchmark and is still seen by many as the finest example of scoring on any videogame". As well, The Guardian attested to the game’s "Excellent symphonic score" and top film music magazine Music From The Movies concluded, "This guy is a rising star!"

Sega recently announced that Richard Jacques is scoring the sequel HEADHUNTER: REDEMPTION which made its debut at the 2003 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles and is slated for release in North America and Europe in late 2003. HEADHUNTER: REDEMPTION will be released on Sony PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Xbox.

For concert venue information visit www.gewandhaus.de. Tickets will be on sale in July.

Richard Jacques (www.richardjacques.com) is represented by Bob Rice of Four Bars Intertainment.

HEADHUNTER Press Quotes:

• "Adrenaline-pumping music." – Game Now

• "A very cinematic soundtrack." – PSM

• "Rousing orchestral compositions." – GameSpot.com

• "The soundtrack is awesome." – IGN

• "Headhunter features great music by composer Richard Jacques…an orchestral score to die for." – GameSpy

• "It’s musically where the game seems set to push the most boundaries." – Edge

• "An epic score." – PSM2

• "His most ambitious project yet." – Official PlayStation 2 Magazine

• "Great music." – PSi2

• "An evocative musical score, which captures perfectly the essence of the big budget action movie." – PlayStation Max

• "Stunning orchestral score." – Computer And Videogames

• "Ripping soundtrack." – GamesDomain

• "A gorgeous orchestral soundtrack...fits the game perfectly, giving it an epic movie touch." – GameSpot.co.uk

• "The music was recorded at Abbey Road Studios by…Richard Jacques & The London [Session] Orchestra, and this shines through as the whole set is easily of Hollywood movie quality and greatly enhances the game's atmosphere." – Total Video Games
   

del.icio.us | Digg This | Glink It

---