Global InformationAndy Brick information
Andy Brick is an American composer, conductor and symphonist.
A native of suburban Chicago, Brick studied composition under Leslie Bassett at the University of Michigan. He then completed graduate studies in composition at the Mannes School of Music in Manhattan.[1]. In 1990, After completing his formal conservatory studies, Brick studied under, and worked with, famed Walt Disney orchestrator Danny Troob and Maestro Paul Lustig Dunkel of the American Composers Orchestra [2] and began working as an arranger for Sesame Street while scoring numerous independent films.[3] In 1996 Brick won the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers young film composers competition. Brick called this '"a defining moment".[3]
Andy Brick has composed and/or orchestrated music for game titles that include Maxis' Sim City: Rush Hour, Midway's Stranglehold,[4] Electronic Arts' The Sims 2[4] and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning[5] as well as Nintendo's Super Mario Bros., Bungie's Halo 3, and Square Enix's Final Fantasy series. His music has also been featured in such game titles as Arc the Lad by Working Designs, Shadoan by Interplay, The Far Reaches by 3DO, Tesselmania by MECC and others.[4]
In August 2003 Brick conducted the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in the first Symphonic Game Music Concert outside Japan, at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany. Andy wrote the fanfare to this historic concert event where his music for Merregnon was featured. Andy Brick served as the exclusive principal conductor and music director of the concert series leading repeatedly sold-out performances from 2003–2007.[3] In 2020 Brick premiered Game ON! with National Symphony Orchestra at the historic John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts[6]
Brick has conducted over 70 game titles including Final Fantasy, Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, Halo, and World of Warcraft with orchestras throughout the world including Prague Symphony Orchestra, Moravian Philharmonic, Bratislava Symphony, The Czech National Symphony, The North Carolina Symphony, The Eugene Symphony, The Filmharmonic of Prague and members of the New York Philharmonic and Detroit Symphony. His performances have been described as "Mesmerizing" leading to "Thunderous ovations generally reserved for Rock Stars."[7][8] He has also worked in films for productions such as The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and The Music Man.
Brick is a Distinguished Associate Professor and head of the Music and Technology department at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey.[9] He has also been the subject of feature stories on the CBS Evening News,[9][10] and Billboard Magazine.[11]
- ^ Hershenson, Roberta (November 9, 2003). "A Composer Gives Video Games a Musical Life". The New York Times. Retrieved November 9, 2003.
- ^ Pycha, Petra (January 1, 1999). "Andy Brick, Orchestra Recordings". MUSA. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ a b c Hershenson, Roberta (9 November 2003). "A Composer Gives Video Games a Musical Life (Published 2003)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-06-22.
- ^ a b c "Andy Brick - Biography / Trivia". lostvgm.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13.
- ^ "Warhammer Online - Age of Reckonking". Archived from the original on 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
- ^ Higgins, Lain (January 8, 2020). "NSO Pops Gives Premiere Of Game ON! Featuring More Than A Dozen Symphonic Video Game Scores". The Kennedy Center. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
- ^ "The Classical Station". theclassicalstation.org.
- ^ Andrew Creasey, The Oregon Music News "Play! A Video Game Symphony | Oregon Music News". Archived from the original on 2010-05-05. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
- ^ a b "Faculty Profile, Stevens Institute of Technology". Retrieved 2022-04-29.
- ^ "The Symphony Meets The Video Game, July 27, 2006, CBS Evening News".
- ^ "Brick Brings Videogame Scores to Life with Orchestra, Faculty biography". Archived from the original on September 29, 2011.