Eric Roth
Composer / Conductor / Orchestrator
USA
Biography:
Eric Roth is known for an original and expressive musical personality, recognized internationally as a composer/conductor, orchestrator/arranger and producer of concerts and recordings.
Eric is the music director and chief arranger for A New World: intimate music from FINAL FANTASY, the chamber ensemble concert production by AWR Music Productions and Square Enix, the video game developer. The production has performed on four continents since 2014 with two acclaimed full-length recordings. He's also the associate music director and an orchestrator/arranger for Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY, the global live orchestral performance phenomenon and recording artist. His orchestrations and arrangements have been performed by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Czech Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Houston Symphony, Seattle Symphony and many other ensembles.
Eric was the conductor of the orchestra for 'Weird Al' Yankovic's historic 2019 Strings Attached Tour, performing dozens of monumental multimedia shows throughout the United States and Canada. 2020 saw the incredible sold-out premiere performances of Undertale LIVE, for which Eric was the music director and primary arranger/orchestrator, as well as the groundbreaking recording he produced. During 2020, Eric's arrangements for viola soloist Clara Takarabe were essential to her work on Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Neurology Telemusic Program in Chicago. Also in 2020, guitar virtuoso Sam Griffin and ER collaborated on the colossal solo guitar audio release The RPG National Anthem Variations, a theme and variations based on the Main Theme of the original FINAL FANTASY game by Nobuo Uematsu. In 2018, the OPENWORLD video game chamber music production premiered at the MomoCon convention in Atlanta; Eric is the music director and chief arranger for OPENWORLD. In 2016, the Pat Benatar/Neil Giraldo orchestra production launched with the Pittsburgh Symphony. Eric is the primary arranger and orchestrator for this project. In 2011 he was the orchestrator and Associate Producer for Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Symphony and also for 2013's follow-up recording.
Since 2012, Eric worked as conductor and orchestrator for live performances with orchestra by chart-topping singer/songwriter John Ondrasik/Five For Fighting. He also rearranged those orchestrations for the successful Five For Fighting String Quartet touring production which culminated in the 2018 commercial release of a live recording. Eric has been the conductor for performances by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Ft. Worth Symphony Orchestra, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra, ensembles accompanying artists such as Seal, Jewel, Dennis DeYoung and Stevie Nicks, and other orchestras and ensembles. He was also the conductor for the 'once in a lifetime' "Surprise, Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular," at the United Center, Chicago 2011 for a roster of performers including Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Usher, Kristin Chenoweth, Jamie Foxx and Josh Groban.
Original music includes the abovementioned The RPG National Anthem Variations for Sam Griffin, music for the dynamic harmonica and piano duo Konstantin Reinfeld/Benyamin Nuss, for the documentary film Baseball's Been Very, Very Good to Me: The Minnie Minoso Story, for Curious George's Dictionary award-winning application for mobile devices as well as other applications by Scrollmotion, ER's own recording of minimal percussion music Battery, Lyceum for Percussion Ensemble and solo recitation, Marquette, Michigan, The Clark Street Bridge Project for 80-plus percussionists-for the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Secret Cheese-for the Tate Modern, London. etc.
Eric's been an instructor at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music (New York), Boston University (Distance Ed.) and other institutions. ABD for a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in music composition at The Graduate Center (City University of New York), he holds a MA from Mills College and a BA from the University of Michigan. His composition teachers include Tania León and Alvin Curran.
Convention Guest Appearances
- Otakuthon 2024 - August 2-4, 2024 in Montréal, QC, Canada
- Anime NYC 2022 - November 18-20, 2022 in New York, NY
- Naka-Kon 2022 - May 27-29, 2022 in Overland Park, KS
- Otakon 2021 - August 6-8, 2021 in Washington, DC