Stephanie Economou is an American composer and violinist based in Los Angeles. Her score won the first Grammy award given in the category of Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media at the 65th annual ceremony.
Early life and education
editEconomou grew up in Long Island where she was involved in music programs at public school.[1] She was inspired by her older sister Nicole to begin playing music, and chose the violin.[1] Economou and her sister also grew up playing the Sega Genesis and games on the first generation of Xbox.[2]
Economou attended the New England Conservatory of Music where she studied composition.[1] During her studies, she began to work with people studying at Emerson College to score music for their films.[1][2]
During her Master's degree for Composition for Visual Media at UCLA, she had an apprenticeship with Harry Gregson-Williams, who employed her following her graduation.[3]
Career
editGames
editUbisoft approached Economou and employed her to initially work on Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The Siege of Paris.[1][2] She cited the work of Sarah Schachner, who wrote the music for the main game, as influential on her scores for the expansions, as well as music by black metal bands Wilderun and Ari Mason.[1][4] Economou composed the soundtrack to the Dawn of Ragnarök expansion of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The album for this soundtrack won the first ever Grammy award given to a game soundtrack.[5] Economou was the only woman nominated in her category.[1][6][7]
Films
editEconomou's film credits include scores to the films About My Father,[8] Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken,[9][10] and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3[11] among others.
Awards and honors
edit- Fellow for the Sundance Institute Composers Lab[1]
- 2018 NBC/Universal Composers Initiative[1]
- 2023: Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media[5]
- Board member of the Alliance for Women Film Composers.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Neophytou, Nadia (3 February 2023). "How Stephanie Economou Is Making History as a Video Game Soundtrack Composer". Shondaland. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ a b c Karounos, Patricia (23 March 2023). "5 Women Share How They Made Your Fave Video Games". www.refinery29.com. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ Farber, Jim (16 September 2017). "Breaking Through the Celluloid Ceiling". www.sfcv.org. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ Tong, Scott; Perkins Mastromarino, James; Ryan, Jill; Swartz, Katherine (6 February 2023). "'Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarök' composer Stephanie Economou wins new Grammy category". www.wbur.org. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ a b "2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Winners & Nominees List". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ Kerr, Chris (6 February 2023). "Stephanie Economou wins game score Grammy for work on Assassin's Creed". Game Developer. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ Fekadu, Mesfin (5 February 2023). "Grammys: Female Composers, 'Encanto' Win Big in Visual Media Categories". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2023-10-31. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ "'About My Father' Soundtrack Album Details | Film Music Reporter". Archived from the original on 2023-11-02. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ Reeves, Rachel (2023-07-17). "Interview: 'Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken' Composer Stephanie Economou". Film Cred. Archived from the original on 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
- ^ Weiss, Josh (30 June 2023). "How Ruby Gillman Composer Created A Special "Kraken Language" For New DreamWorks Film". SYFY Official Site. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
- ^ "Creating Music That Feels Like Being in Greece for My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3". Focus Features. Archived from the original on 2023-10-02. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
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