- Jonne Valtonen
Infobox musical artist
Name = Jonne Valtonen
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Born = birth date and age|1976|3|23Turku ,Finland
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Instrument =Piano
KeyboardHarp
Genre =Orchestral
New Age
Electronic
Occupation =Composer Arranger Orchestrator Musician
Years_active = 1991-present
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Notable_instruments =Jonne Valtonen (born
March 23 ,1976 ) is an award winning Finnishcomposer ,arranger andorchestrator . He is renowned for his contributions in the field ofvideo game music .Life and early career
Jonne Valtonen was born on
March 23 ,1976 inTurku ,Finland and was raised inKaarina along with his brother. He began learning to play classical piano at the age of nine.Valtonen’s first music compositions were done on his
home computer , a "Commodore 64 ". During his teen years, he became involved in the "PCdemoscene " where he was able to pursue his passion for electronic music production. He has won several awards in this field: Between 1991 and 1996 Valtonen created music for one of the most widely popular groups in the demoscene at the time, the "Future Crew ". Eventually he became their lead composer under the pseudonym "Purple Motion". Some of his best known compositions were "UnreaL II (Second Reality)", "Satellite One", and "Starshine".Nectarine radio, [http://www.scenemusic.eu/chartssongs.php Song charts] (accessed2008-06-25 )]Working for the entertainment industry
In 1996 Jonne Valtonen began doing commission work for major game developers in Finland, namely "
Remedy Entertainment ", "Housemarque " and "Bugbear Entertainment ".MobyGames, [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,2131/ Valtonen's profile page] (accessed2008-06-25 )] During the same time, he served as the musical director for the "TeatteriSusi" theatre, where he composed music for several plays including "Dracula ", "The Miser " and "Don Quijote ". He then co-founded his company "Valtone Oy" in 1998, specialising in music productions for the entertainment industry. Continuing on this path, he also contributed two titles, in 2000 and 2002, for the "Merregnon " trilogy, an international soundtrack project featuring orchestral music by veteran video game composers from all over the world, such asChris Hülsbeck andYuzo Koshiro .In 2002, Valtonen's talent was recognized again when he was presented with the Best Soundtrack Award at the "International Fest of Cinema & Technology" for the movie "House by the Sea", directed by Janne Ketola.IFCT award, [http://www.ifct.org/ Official website] (accessed2008-06-25 )] In 2004 Jonne Valtonen released his first professionally mastered audio CD, titled "Musicdisk" featuring tracks from his demoscene past.Educational background
Jonne Valtonen has been studying classical composition at the "Pirkanmaa Polytechnic" in Finland for the past five years. He has received training in composition under the guidance of Hannu Pohjannoro, Oliver Kohlenberg, Kirmo Lintinen and Juhani Nuorvala. He has also studied under
Magnus Lindberg andJouni Kaipainen in Sannäs composition master class in 2006 and underMichael Nyman in composition master class at the "Sibelius Academy ".Arrangements and orchestrations
Drawing on his strong background in live orchestra work and his studies, Jonne Valtonen has been arranging and orchestrating music for video game concerts since 2005. His work has been performed by highly respected orchestras and choirs around the world, as well as at concert halls including "
Sydney Opera House ", "Gewandhaus Leipzig ", "Max Fisher Music CenterDetroit ", "Esplanade Singapore " and "KonserthusetStockholm ". His portfolio includes major franchises such as "Super Mario Bros. ", "The Elder Scrolls ", "Metal Gear Solid ", "The Legend of Zelda "and "Castlevania ".Concert producer Boecker speaks, [http://www.squareenixmusic.com/features/thomasinterview.shtml Valtonen's arrangements] (accessed2008-06-25 )] In 2007 he arranged and orchestrated music for "SEGA Japan ‘s" arcade game series "World Club Champion Football " which was recorded with a live orchestra and choir inPrague .MUSA website list, [http://musa.cz/credits.php?cat=3 Game credits WCCF] (accessed2008-06-25 )]Valtonen has arranged and orchestrated a full concert of 70 minutes which is entitled "Symphonic Shades" and is dedicated to the work of video game composer Chris Hülsbeck. It was performed twice by the German "WDR Radio Orchestra" and a choir on August 23, 2008 in
Cologne .4Players concert announcement, [http://www.4players.de/4players.php/dispbericht/PC-CDROM/Special/9128/6748/0/Chris_Huelsbeck.html Valtonen works for Symphonic Shades] (accessed2008-06-25 )] "Symphonic Shades" marked the first ever live radio broadcast of a video game music concert.4Players concert announcement, [http://www.symphonicshades.com/?p=63 Symphonic Shades on radio] (accessed2008-08-29 )]Recent history
At the beginning of 2008, Jonne Valtonen took the position of the music lead for all live orchestra projects at "
Merregnon Studios", a company involved in productions such as the historic "Symphonic Game Music Concerts " at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig (2003-2007), "PLAY! A Video Game Symphony " (2006-2007), "" (2007-ongoing), "Symphonic Shades - Hülsbeck in Concert" (2008) and several live recordings for publishers/developers such as "THQ USA ", "SEGA Japan" and "Square-Enix Japan".Symphonic Shades interview, [http://www.symphonicshades.com/?p=29 Valtonen music lead at Merregnon Studios] (accessed2008-06-25 )]Trivia
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