Jason Hayes is the award-winning lead composer of the first release of World of Warcraft, the most successful online game ever. There can be no doubt that the haunting melody and driving beat of this soundtrack contributed much to the success of this legendary game. But Hayes’ success reaches far and beyond this singular achievement. Jason Hayes went on to create the musical backdrop for such popular games as StarCraft and Diablo, and his music has been performed by symphony orchestras in many parts of the globe.
With so many musical accomplishments under his belt, it is no wonder that Hayes has been a sought-after featured speaker at UCLA, USC, the Film Music Network, ASCAP, the Society of Composers and Lyricists, the Game Developers Conference, and the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program. From the perspective of Kars4Kids, of course, it is the kindness of Jason Hayes that stands out. When it came time for the New Orleans, Louisiana native to offload his well-used car, Hayes chose to donate the vehicle to our charity for children.
Naturally, we were excited to discover that our new donor was a famous composer, and we thought our readers would be, too. We put some questions to Jason Hayes to find out more about the fascinating work of this talented and celebrated musical artist and creator:
Kars4Kids: How did you end up composing the music for World of Warcraft? Had you written music scores for other games, or was that your first experience?
Jason Hayes: I started writing music for Blizzard Entertainment on the game StarCraft in 1998. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to work on many of their titles in their popular worlds of StarCraft, Warcraft and Diablo, culminating in becoming the original lead composer of World of Warcraft.
Kars4Kids: What is your musical background? What led to you becoming a composer in the first place?
Jason Hayes: As a child, I loved to play on my neighbor’s piano, even though I hadn’t had lessons yet and didn’t know what I was doing. Eventually, they allowed us to move their piano into our house on an extended loan because they could tell I loved it, and probably also to get me out of their house making a racket!
Kars4Kids: Who is the biggest influence on you as a musician?
Jason Hayes: I’ve always been inspired by the classical composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, and the film composer Jerry Goldsmith. There are many more, but those two spring to mind.
Kars4Kids: Can you tell us a bit about the car you donated?
Jason Hayes: I donated my 2006 Mini Cooper S, a car I loved. I was the original owner, and that car was my faithful road companion for years. Even though I have 3 daughters and would have liked for one of them to learn to drive on it, the manual transmission was a barrier to entry for them. I thought it would make a great car to donate, so someone else can get some joy from driving it!
Kars4Kids: What’s next for Jason Hayes?
Jason Hayes: I’m currently working in virtual reality, an exciting field for interactive entertainment where the profound sense of immersion and the potential for powerful storytelling are inspiring!
