Composer, musical director
Website: charlierosen.com
Most recent: 8-Bit Big Band tour
Charlie Rosen might best be known for his work on Broadway, but he’s also the music director behind the GRAMMY Award-winning video game music jazz orchestra The 8-Bit Big Band, which has been bringing the sounds of Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Sonic the Hedgehog, and other video game classics to life onstage on a U.S. tour that concludes in December this year at New York’s Sony Hall.
As music director, Rosen chooses the songs, comes up with new takes on the classics, decides on arrangements, produces demos, books the musicians, schedules recording sessions, and serves as the all-around band leader for 8BBB, which began in 2017 as a passion project to uphold what he calls the Great Video Game Songbook. “We made some videos, threw it online, and little did I know there is an incredibly vivacious, active and enthusiastic community for covers of video game music,” Rosen says.
For him, the thrill of leading 8BBB is worth the logistical and financial challenges. “No one gets into orchestra to become a billionaire,” he says. “Even though we sell well, it’s an incredibly expensive hobby, but I don’t do it to make money. It’s because we love the music, and there is nothing more powerful than a big group of live musicians playing well."
Rosen urges aspiring composers to find what’s original to them. “I found something I could create that was a uniquely personal calling card and used that to make people aware of what I can do. That thing was 8BBB,” he says, also emphasizing the importance of being multi-faceted with your musical knowledge. “You don’t have to play a lot of instruments at a high level, but the more you can at least somewhat play, the better you’ll be at writing with those instruments and communicating with musicians who do play them. With visual media, think about the point of what’s occurring onstage or onscreen.”
