The Harry Potter franchise is beloved by all. Recently, Hogwarts Legacy, a new game set in the Harry Potter universe, gained a lot of traction from gamers and Potterheads alike, and several BYU students, staff, and alumni were included in the making of the music.
The Hofheins family is a musically talented group who were involved in this project.
Nathan Hofhiens is an assistant professor in the school of music and was a conductor of the overture to the unwritten.
“It’s kind of a medley for the game that they used in the game, but they put it together for a promotional spot that I orchestrated and conducted.”
Nathan’s daughter, Amanda Hofheins, was a cellist in the orchestra, and Nathan’s son, Joseph Hofheins, was a violinist.
“The arrangement was very well done, and it was fun to just be a part of all of that,” Amanda Hofheins said.
“It was a bit of a unique project because the game hadn’t been released, it hadn’t even been announced yet, so we kind of had to keep it on the down-low,” Joseph Hofheins said.
The Hofhiens weren’t the only members of the BYU community involved. J Scott Rakozy is the composer of many songs on the Hogwarts Legacy soundtrack.
“My role initially was for the music side of things was kind of bringing more of the John Williams-like sound to the soundtrack,” said Rakozy. “It needed that nostalgia kind of factor.”
For those who worked on the project, they say it was daunting and fulfilling.
“It took a little bit of time to kind of emerge myself into the style, the idiom, of John Williams,” Rakozy said.
“In my own musical compositions, I have been called upon a lot to imitate his style,” Hofhein said. “It was cool to work with another composer who had done the same kind of thing for the game, knowing that it really needed to sound like John Williams.”
Bringing musical magic into this game was expertly done by all of these members of the BYU community.
“It was fun to see everyone’s reaction and have this excitement and energy in the room while playing these well-loved pieces,” said Amanda Hofhein.
There were a number of other BYU members that were involved in the music, such as Peter Murray, who graduated with a BA in Commercial Music.
Murray composed several cues for the game, as well as implemented the music, and hooked it up within the game engine, and as a Harry Potter fan himself, he was excited to work on this project.
“Working on Hogwarts Legacy has been a blast,” Murray said. “It’s been long and hard, but it’s been a ton of fun, too. The subject matter is so fun and whimsical and is just a joy to write music for.”
If you would like to play the game, just head over to hogwartslegacy.com.
