John Robert Matz, a Chicago-based performer, arranger, composer and music educator will visit Brock for a series of events exploring video game audio as part of the 2024-25 Walker Cultural Leader Series presented by the Department of Music. Chicago-based performer and video game composer John Robert Matz will bring his expertise in creating game scores that highlight diverse voices to Brock during an upcoming public lecture.
Matz will share his journey composing the score for Awaceb’s Tchia, an award-winning 2023 action-adventure video game inspired by the developers’ familial and cultural ties to New Caledonia, a French territory in the south Pacific Ocean.
Nina Penner, Assistant Professor of Music, said the talk will shed light how modern Western composers can respectfully highlight Indigenous art forms and explore models of ethical collaboration that support the resurgence of Indigenous cultures.
“While Matz is not from New Caledonia himself, he collaborated with local musicians and actors to accurately represent not only its Indigenous musical traditions but also the choral traditions that arose in response to French colonization and the modern popular genre of Kaneka music,” she said.
Penner added that Awaceb’s work on Tchia is also an example of how “a small ‘indie’ studio can prioritize music and sound, even on a small budget.”
Part of Brock’s 2024-25 Walker Cultural Leader (WCL) Series presented by the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), Matz will speak at The Film House in the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m.
Matz, who is also a music educator, will also facilitate a two-day sound jam on Saturday, Jan. 18 and Sunday, Jan. 19 in Rankin Family Pavilion in partnership with the Department of Digital Humanities. The game-making jam session will explore how to use sound — music, sound effects, and voiceover — in innovative ways.
Penner, who is teaching a new Game Music course this winter (MUSI 3P45), said the purpose of the jam is to get people thinking about sound earlier in the creative process while connecting people interested in creating audio for games with game designers.
All events are free and open to Brock students, faculty and staff as well as the wider Niagara community. Registration is required to attend. For details, please visit the Walker Cultural Leader Series website.
