| Landscape | yes |
|---|---|
| Background | non_performing_personnel |
| Birth name | Peter Nelson McConnell |
| Birth date | April 19, 1960 (age 66) |
| Birth place | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Instruments | Keyboards · synthesizers · guitar · violin |
| Genre | Various |
| Occupation | Composer · musician |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Alias | Peter Mc · Pete McConnell |
| Associated acts | Clint Bajakian Michael Land The Gone Jackals |
| Website | petermc.com |
Peter Nelson McConnell (born April 19, 1960), also known as Peter Mc, is an American video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work at LucasArts and for composing the soundtracks for every Sly Cooper game since the second installment.
Early life and education
McConnell was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He studied music as an undergraduate at Harvard University in the 1980s under Timothy Vincent Clarke, Curt Cacioppo and Ivan Tcherepnin. At Harvard, McConnell befriended the future LucasArts composer Michael Land,[1] who composed many of the company's titles, and worked with him at the audio company Lexicon.
Career
While beginning his career in the Sound Department at LucasArts, Land needed someone to compose and implement music into his second project, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, and McConnell stepped in.[2] McConnell and Land co-invented iMUSE, LucasArts' patented interactive music system.[3]
During his time at LucasArts, McConnell composed many soundtracks for games such as those in the Monkey Island, Indiana Jones, and Star Wars series. Notable titles from this time include Grim Fandango, scored with unique Mexican-influenced jazz, klezmer and traditional film score style, and Full Throttle, featuring a rock soundtrack, which McConnell scored with rock group The Gone Jackals. While composing music for these two games, McConnell worked closely with Tim Schafer, who later hired him to compose scores for Psychonauts, Brütal Legend, and Costume Quest for his company Double Fine Productions.
McConnell left LucasArts in 2000 but contributed to Escape from Monkey Island and the special edition of The Secret of Monkey Island. Since then, McConnell has composed scores for Psychonauts, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (about which McConnell says he was influenced by Henry Mancini's works),[4] and Kinectimals.
McConnell is one of the founding members of G.A.N.G., the Game Audio Network Guild. He is also a known live-action music performer, playing the electric violin.
In 2013, McConnell returned to the Sly Cooper franchise to score the fourth game, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, released in February of that year. The Nashville Music Scoring Orchestra performed the score. Also, for the first time ever, McConnell's entire score was released on iTunes to accompany the game's release.
McConnell worked on the Double Fine titles Broken Age and the remastered version of Grim Fandango, both of which include performances by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. He scored the 2021 Psychonauts 2, for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Games Award[5] and a D.I.C.E. Award.[6] He also wrote music for the 2020 film Intersect.[7]
Personal life
He married Amy McConnell and they have two children, Eben and Alice.
Works
- Video game soundtracks
- Film
| Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Intersect | 2020 | Gus Holwerda |
- Acting
| Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back | Yoda | Voice |
| Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader | Admiral Ackbar | |
| Double Fine Adventure | Self | Documentary series |
| Beep: A Documentary History of Game Sound | Documentary |
Written works
- McConnell, Peter (September 1999). "Dance of the Dead: The Adventures of a Composer Creating the Game Music for Grim Fandango". Electronic Musician. 15 (9): 30–32, 35–36, 38–40, 42. New York: NewBay Media, LLC. ISSN 0884-4720
- "Method and apparatus for dynamically composing music and sound effects using a computer entertainment system (iMUSE patent)". No. 5315057.
References
- ^ Bowe, Miles (June 21, 2015). "When Mexican folk music danced with film noir: FACT meets Peter McConnell, the composer behind Grim Fandango". Fact. The Vinyl Factory. Archived 2019-07-13 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ According to interview with Peter McConnell in 22/11/2003 Archived July 14, 2011 at the Wayback Machine: "Michael Land and I had been working on projects together since we were at Harvard in the 80's. He really started the Sound Department at LucasArts, and was looking for someone who could both compose and design code, and I guess he figured I would fit the job pretty well. He must have been right, since I ended up working there for nearly 10 years."
- ^ "iMUSE and the Secret of Organic Music from 1UP.com". 2013-01-24. Archived January 24, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2024-09-23.
- ^ "Lucasdelirium.it gives an interview to Peter McConnell."[dead link]
- ^ Diaz, Ana (June 13, 2021). "Psychonauts 2 finally gets a release date". Polygon. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
- ^ "25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists Revealed". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived January 15, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ "Intersect (2020)". FilmAffinity. 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
- ^ "Peter McConnell | Composer"
- ^ Bartelson, Eric (2024-02-26). "Renowned composer Peter McConnell scores Goblin Stone from Orc Chop Games". PreMortem Games. Retrieved 2024-09-23.