Eimear Noone, Conductor and Composer

Composer and conductor Eimear Noone made history in 2020 at the 92nd Academy Awards when she became the first woman to conduct the orchestra at the Oscars.

Recently, Eímear composed the score for the animated feature film, 'Two by Two: Overboard', which topped the UK Box Office in October 2020.

An award-winning Irish composer and conductor Eimear splits her time between composing music for video games, feature films, Television, and commercials, and conducting classical and game music concerts. Most recently, Eimear composed and conducted for the iconic video game, World of WarCraft and its new expansion, Warlords of Draenor. The score for "WoD" received the 2014 Hollywood Music in Media Award for "Best Video Game Score" and was nominated for 5 Annual Game Music Awards, and the ASCAP Composer's Choice Award for Game Score. Eimear also composed the score for the feature film, The Donner Party (2009) starring Crispin Glover, among others. As a conductor she has led many of the world's great ensembles such as The Philadelphia Orchestra (The Mann Center), The Dallas Symphony (Myerson Hall), The Royal Philharmonic (Hammersmith Apollo Theatre), The Sydney Symphony (Sydney Opera House), and The National Symphony (Wolf Trap), just to name a few. Arguably the world's current premier conductor of video game scores (both in the studio and in the concert hall), her credits include the most respected in the genre, including games such as Heroes of The Storm, StarCraft II, Diablo III, Reaper of Souls, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and many more. Diablo III, as one example, smashed the record of game sales by selling over 3.5 million copies in the first 24 hours alone. It also won the 2012 GDC award for best audio - which includes the award for music, - the 2012 Hollywood Music in Media Award for Best Original Score, and a 2013 BAFTA Nomination for Best Original Score.

Recent studio conducting responsibilities include leading the orchestra for Electronic Dance Music legend BT's newest release, "Electronic Opus" as well as the score for the just-released Gus Van Sant film Sea of Trees, staring Mathew McConaughey. She has also conducted for Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Gladys Knight. In March of 2015, she joined with BT to perform the music from "Electronic Opus" live as part of Miami Music Week. In the live performance of video game music, currently Eimear is a conductor for the touring show Video Games Live. Prior to this, for two years, Eimear toured as the principal conductor for The Zelda Symphony, a full four - movement symphony created from the themes from the iconic video game, The Legend of Zelda. In 2011, Eimear recorded the Zelda Symphony 25th Anniversary CD, released by Nintendo as part of their newest Zelda game, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Eimear also conducted for the series of 3D music videos that Nintendo released with their 3DS. These videos were filmed during the actual recording sessions for this Zelda game - the first time a game score had been filmed in 3D while it was being recorded. Bootlegs of the videos have garnered over 10 million YouTube viewings.

In 2011, Eimear conducted and co-produced This is Ireland, a live show with her husband, Emmy-nominated composer, Craig Stuart Garfinkle, at Royce Hall, LA for St. Patrick's Day. Featuring orchestra, gospel choir, actors, and soloists, the show starred Irish performers Pierce Brosnan and Roma Downey. Following on from the success of its premier, This is Ireland is being developed for a possible tour and television broadcast.

Although best known for these contemporary performances, Eímear's background is solidly in classical music. Recent concerts include her conducting works as varied as Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov), The Firebird (Stravinsky), The New World Symphony (Dvorak), and more. As another example of her classical experience, Eimear had the pleasure of conducting the orchestra for the Los Angeles Ballet in their inaugural production of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker in 2007. The LA Times said of the performance: "...The score was again given loving care by Eimear Noone and her orchestra" - L. Segal - The L.A. Times, January 2007 Before relocating to California, for four years Eimear conducted and composed for the Dublin City Concert Orchestra, an ensemble she co-founded at the age of 21 for the performance and promotion of film music and repertoire used in films. The three honorary patrons of the orchestra were John Boorman, Elmer Bernstein and Noel Pearson. The orchestra and symphonic chorus held a sell out series of concerts at the National Concert Hall in Dublin and earned much attention from the Irish national press. The Irish Independent described her debut performance: "...In one movement the audience rose to its feet in a standing ovation reminiscent of Riverdance. It was magic, the response of the audience... people left exhilarated and in tears."