After listening to the “Star Wars” soundtrack on repeat for much of his childhood, Gordy Haab (BM ’00) has found his way to put his own spin on the John Williams classic. Haab, a Los Angeles composer, has scored more than 17 hours of music for the “Star Wars” video games.
Most recently, he was tasked with expanding the theme music while working on the score for “Star Wars: Battlefront II.” He talked to the Richmond Times-Dispatch about the process.
To start, he writes all his musical scores by hand. He recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios, where John Williams recorded the new “Star Wars” movie soundtracks. And like Williams, Haab recorded with the full London Symphony and an 80-member choir.
“Each time I went overseas, I tried something that hadn’t been used before,” he said.
It took nine trips and approximately 900,000 miles to complete the score.
He also described how his music education at VCUarts helped him get to where he is today.
Haab grew up in Lakeside and moved with his family to Mechanicsville when he was 10. He graduated from Lee-Davis High School and studied music composition at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Doug Richards, the recently retired professor of jazz composition at VCU, had the biggest influence on him, Haab said.
“Everything I learned about writing music was from him,” Haab said. “He was very tough on me and my abilities. But he helped me become who I am today.”
At VCU, he studied and worked with many members of the No BS! Brass Band, including Taylor Barnett who plays trumpet for the band.
“In a lot of ways, I feel like Gordy was the same way back then that he is now: unassuming and humble, but also brilliant and the hardest-working person you’ll ever meet. The deadlines that he works under in the film and video game industry are crazy, but this is how he’s always done it,” said Barnett, who is now an assistant professor of music at VCU. “Since I’ve known him, he never just ‘got the job done.’
“He always went above and beyond in the level of craftsmanship and creativity in his compositions.
After graduating, Haab moved to California to study scoring for motion pictures and television at the University of Southern California.
Read the full article in Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Image: Music composer Gordy Haab, who grew up in Lakeside and Mechanicsville, has created soundtracks for such video games as “Halo Wars 2” and “Star Wars: Battlefront II.” Credit via Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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