Wataru Hokoyama

Japanese composer, conductor, and orchestrator

Wataru Hokoyama
Hokoyama conducting in 2009
Background information
Born	(1974-08-24) August 24, 1974 (age 49) Aizu, Fukushima, Japan
Occupation(s)	Composer, conductor, orchestrator
Years active	2000–present

Musical artist

Wataru Hokoyama (鋒山亘, Hokoyama Wataru, born August 24, 1974) is a Japanese composer, conductor, and orchestrator based in Hollywood, California. He left his birth nation of Japan at the age of 16 to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan. He later attended the Cleveland Institute of Music and the USC Thornton School of Music. His works include the original scores for Bean Cake, Ocha Cups for Christmas, One, Afrika, and Soul Sacrifice.

In 2008, Hokoyama composed, orchestrated, and conducted all the music for the video game Afrika. The soundtrack was released in Japan. The music was awarded Best Original Video Game Score by The Hollywood Music Awards 2008.^[1] Movie Music UK has the only review of the soundtrack and gave it 4.5/5.0, saying "Hokoyama has left a strong impression with the wonderful music he has composed. This is a soundtrack you cannot pass up."^[2]

In 2009, Hokoyama provided a few orchestral cues for cutscenes in Resident Evil 5.^[3] Following that, Hokoyama then co-composed, orchestrated, and conducted the music for the 2013 PlayStation Vita game, Soul Sacrifice. He was assisted on the project by Yasunori Mitsuda. He would later rejoin Mitsuda to help compose new music for the sequel, Soul Sacrifice Delta. Also in 2013, he contributed some music and co-orchestrated the soundtrack to the PlayStation 4 game, Knack.^[4]

Works

Television

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2002) - orchestration of the song "Mrs." in "Selfless"
Miracle Planet (2005) - orchestration of an unknown episode

Films and TV

Dungeons & Dragons (2000) - orchestration (with Paul S. Henning)
Bean Cake (2001) - composition
The Best Picture Show (2001) - composition
One (2001) - composition
Me and My Old Man (2001) - conducting
Ocha Cups for Christmas (2002) - composition
The Kabuki Joint (2003) - composition
The Document of ‘God’s Left Hand, Devil’s Right Hand’ (2006) - composition
Kami no hidarite akuma no migite (2006) - composition
Chiyo (2006) - composition
The Making of Dark Fantasy (2007) - composition
2095 (2007) - composition and orchestration (with Christopher Farrell)
HOP (2011) - orchestration
Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack (2012) - composition and orchestration (with Go Shiina)
Puppy! (2017) - music arranger
Brad's Status (2017) - additional music (with Mark Mothersbaugh)
The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017) - orchestral arrangements and additional music (with Mark Mothersbaugh)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017) - additional music (with Mark Mothersbaugh)
Pandas (2018) - additional music (with John Enroth, Albert Fox, Ethan Obbema, Mark Mothersbaugh and Ray Plaza)
Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) - additional music (with Ray Plaza, Peter Seibert, and Mark Mothersbaugh)
Holmes & Watson (2018) - additional music (with Mark Mothersbaugh, Ray Plaza, Tim Jones, Peter Seibert and Sunna Wehrmeijer)
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019) - additional music (with Tim Jones, Peter Seibert, Ray Plaza, Mark Mothersbaugh and Alan Tyler)
The Willoughbys (2020) - additional music and arrangements (with Mark Mothersbaugh, John Enroth, Albert Fox, Tim Jones and Pete Seibert)
The Croods: A New Age (2020) - additional music (with Mark Mothersbaugh, Peter Seibert, Ethan Obbema and Brian Byrne)
The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021) - score wrangler
Monster Pets: A Hotel Transylvania (2021) - additional music (with Mark Mothersbaugh]])
Rugrats (2021 TV series) (2021) - additional music (with Robert Mothersbaugh)

Video games

Afrika (2008) - composition, orchestration, and conducting
Resident Evil 5 (2009) - composition, orchestration, and conducting
Ace Combat: Joint Assault (2010) - orchestration and conducting
Kinect Disneyland Adventures (2011) - composition and conducting (with Mark Griskey, Laura Karpman, Paul Lipson, Peter McConnell, and Lennie Moore)
Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble (2012) - composition and orchestration (with many others)
The Grinns Tale (2012) - composition
Soul Sacrifice (2013) - composition, orchestration, and conducting (with Yasunori Mitsuda)
Knack (2013) - composition and orchestration (with Matthew Margeson)
Soul Sacrifice Delta (2014) - composition and orchestration (with Yasunori Mitsuda)
Halo 2: Anniversary (2014) - orchestration (with Lennie Moore, Tom Salta, Brian Trifon, and Brian Lee White)
Halo Wars 2 (2017) - conducting
Volta-X (2020) - composer
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021) - composer (with Mark Mothersbaugh)
Monster Hunter Rise (2021) - conductor (Los Angeles Recording Session)

Other

Music for NPR's All Things Considered.^[5]
String arrangements on the Thirty Seconds to Mars album A Beautiful Lie.
In 2007, he was commissioned by the United States Air Force Band to premiere a new piece for the 400th Anniversary of Jamestown's settlement and the 60th anniversary of US Air Force.^[6]
Conducted Video Games Live with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in Newark, NJ on December 29–30, 2010, with the National Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorale in Bethesda, MD on February 26, 2011, and with the Mesa Symphony Orchestra and Vocal Exchange Choir in Mesa, AZ on April 7, 2011.
Composed the piece Animas Luminis, written as a memorial and requiem to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami victims.

References

^ Hollywood Music Awards Winners List
^ "Movie Music UK review".
^ "Three Days of Resident Evil 5 ~ Day 2: Interview with Composer Wataru Hokoyama".
^ "Knack (PlayStation 4, 2013) credits". MobyGames.
^ "WWW.WESTERLING.COM The Internet Home of Jonathan WesterlingNPR Cello Project | WWW.WESTERLING.COM The Internet Home of Jonathan Westerling". westerling.com.
^ "musicpage". www.hokoyama.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.