Otakon 2021 Friday Concert to Feature Video Game Music
Washington, D.C. (June 24, 2021) – OPENWORLD, the Friday concert at Otakon 2021, will feature exciting new arrangements of video game music for a chamber ensemble of world-class musicians, according to Otakorp Inc. The concert will be conducted by internationally known composer/conductor, orchestrator/arranger and concert producer Eric Roth. The concert is presented by AWR Music Productions.
OPENWORLD features music from "Halo," "Super Mario 64," "Metal Gear Solid," "DuckTales," "The Legend of Zelda" series and many others. Selections range from '90s classics to recent releases.
The name of the production comes from a term to connote freedom of movement within a video game; OPENWORLD embraces that spirit of freedom, movement and adventure.
Roth is the music director and chief arranger for OPENWORLD. He was previously the music director and producer of "Distant Worlds: Music from FINAL FANTASY" and "A New World: Intimate Music from FINAL FANTASY" by AWR Music Productions and Square Enix, the video game developer. His orchestrations and arrangements have been performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Houston Symphony, Seattle Symphony and many other ensembles.
He was the conductor of the orchestra for ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic's historic 2019 "Strings Attached" Tour, performing dozens of monumental multimedia shows throughout the United States and Canada. 2020 saw the incredible sold-out premiere performances of "Undertale LIVE," for which Roth was the music director and primary arranger/orchestrator, as well as the groundbreaking recording he produced.
During 2020, Eric's arrangements for viola soloist Clara Takarabe were essential to her work on Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Neurology Telemusic Program in Chicago. Also in 2020, guitar virtuoso Sam Griffin and ER collaborated on the colossal solo guitar audio release "The RPG National Anthem" Variations, a theme and variations based on the Main Theme of the original FINAL FANTASY game by Nobuo Uematsu.
In 2016, the Pat Benatar/Neil Giraldo orchestra production launched with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Roth is the primary arranger and orchestrator for this project. In 2011 he was the orchestrator and associate poducer for "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony" and also for 2013's follow-up recording.
Since 2012, Roth worked as conductor and orchestrator for live performances with orchestra by chart-topping singer/songwriter John Ondrasik/Five For Fighting. He also rearranged those orchestrations for the successful Five For Fighting String Quartet touring production which culminated in the 2018 commercial release of a live recording. Roth has been the conductor for performances by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, ensembles accompanying artists such as Seal, Jewel, Dennis DeYoung and Stevie Nicks, and other orchestras and ensembles. He was also the conductor for the ‘once in a lifetime’ “Surprise, Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular,” at the United Center, Chicago 2011 for a roster of performers including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Usher, Kristin Chenoweth, Jamie Foxx and Josh Groban.
Original music includes the abovementioned "The RPG National Anthem Variations" for Sam Griffin, music for the dynamic harmonica and piano duo Konstantin Reinfeld/Benyamin Nuss, for the documentary film "Baseball's Been Very, Very Good to Me: The Minnie Minoso Story," for "Curious George's Dictionary" award-winning application for mobile devices as well as other applications by Scrollmotion, Roth's own recording of minimal percussion music, "Battery, Lyceum" for Percussion Ensemble and solo recitation, Marquette, Michigan, "The Clark Street Bridge Project" for 80-plus percussionists—for the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, "Secret Cheese"—for the Tate Modern, London. etc.
Roth's been an instructor at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music (New York), Boston University (Distance Ed.) and other institutions. ABD for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in music composition at The Graduate Center (City University of New York), he holds a MA from Mills College and a BA from the University of Michigan. His composition teachers include Tania León and Alvin Curran.
ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twenty-seventh year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Historically, Otakon has drawn up to 34,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 100,000 turnstile attendees). Otakon is a membership based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.
OPENWORLD features music from "Halo," "Super Mario 64," "Metal Gear Solid," "DuckTales," "The Legend of Zelda" series and many others. Selections range from '90s classics to recent releases.
The name of the production comes from a term to connote freedom of movement within a video game; OPENWORLD embraces that spirit of freedom, movement and adventure.
Roth is the music director and chief arranger for OPENWORLD. He was previously the music director and producer of "Distant Worlds: Music from FINAL FANTASY" and "A New World: Intimate Music from FINAL FANTASY" by AWR Music Productions and Square Enix, the video game developer. His orchestrations and arrangements have been performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Houston Symphony, Seattle Symphony and many other ensembles.
He was the conductor of the orchestra for ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic's historic 2019 "Strings Attached" Tour, performing dozens of monumental multimedia shows throughout the United States and Canada. 2020 saw the incredible sold-out premiere performances of "Undertale LIVE," for which Roth was the music director and primary arranger/orchestrator, as well as the groundbreaking recording he produced.
During 2020, Eric's arrangements for viola soloist Clara Takarabe were essential to her work on Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Neurology Telemusic Program in Chicago. Also in 2020, guitar virtuoso Sam Griffin and ER collaborated on the colossal solo guitar audio release "The RPG National Anthem" Variations, a theme and variations based on the Main Theme of the original FINAL FANTASY game by Nobuo Uematsu.
In 2016, the Pat Benatar/Neil Giraldo orchestra production launched with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Roth is the primary arranger and orchestrator for this project. In 2011 he was the orchestrator and associate poducer for "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony" and also for 2013's follow-up recording.
Since 2012, Roth worked as conductor and orchestrator for live performances with orchestra by chart-topping singer/songwriter John Ondrasik/Five For Fighting. He also rearranged those orchestrations for the successful Five For Fighting String Quartet touring production which culminated in the 2018 commercial release of a live recording. Roth has been the conductor for performances by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, ensembles accompanying artists such as Seal, Jewel, Dennis DeYoung and Stevie Nicks, and other orchestras and ensembles. He was also the conductor for the ‘once in a lifetime’ “Surprise, Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular,” at the United Center, Chicago 2011 for a roster of performers including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Usher, Kristin Chenoweth, Jamie Foxx and Josh Groban.
Original music includes the abovementioned "The RPG National Anthem Variations" for Sam Griffin, music for the dynamic harmonica and piano duo Konstantin Reinfeld/Benyamin Nuss, for the documentary film "Baseball's Been Very, Very Good to Me: The Minnie Minoso Story," for "Curious George's Dictionary" award-winning application for mobile devices as well as other applications by Scrollmotion, Roth's own recording of minimal percussion music, "Battery, Lyceum" for Percussion Ensemble and solo recitation, Marquette, Michigan, "The Clark Street Bridge Project" for 80-plus percussionists—for the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, "Secret Cheese"—for the Tate Modern, London. etc.
Roth's been an instructor at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music (New York), Boston University (Distance Ed.) and other institutions. ABD for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in music composition at The Graduate Center (City University of New York), he holds a MA from Mills College and a BA from the University of Michigan. His composition teachers include Tania León and Alvin Curran.
ABOUT OTAKON AND OTAKORP, INC.: Now entering its twenty-seventh year, Otakon is an annual celebration of Japanese and East Asian popular culture, and also one of the largest gatherings of fans in the United States. Otakon celebrates popular culture as a gateway to deeper understanding of Asian culture, and has grown along with the enthusiasm for anime, manga, video games, and music from the Far East. Historically, Otakon has drawn up to 34,000 people for three days each year (for a paid attendance of over 100,000 turnstile attendees). Otakon is a membership based convention sponsored by Otakorp, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based, 501(c)3 educational non-profit whose mission is to promote the appreciation of Asian culture, primarily through its media and entertainment. Otakorp, Inc. is directed by an all-volunteer, unpaid staff – we are run by fans, for fans.
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