The composer Stan LePard surprisingly passed away in February 2021. He created musical pieces for various video games, some of which you have surely heard of.
Who was Stan LePard? The composer and orchestrator Stan LePard produced musical works primarily for video games. Among the most famous are Halo, Destiny, and Guild Wars 2.
He specialized mainly in music that he recorded with an orchestra. The soundtracks often play in the background of the game but have also occasionally been used for trailers.
According to LinkedIn, Stan LePard earned his Bachelor in Music in 1980 and later specialized in Jazz and Jazz Arrangements at the University of North Texas. He has been composing for video games since 1994.
Who said goodbye to him? On Twitter, composer Maclaine Diemer, who also worked on Guild Wars 2, shared the news of Stan LePard’s passing.
Diemer revealed that the composer passed away unexpectedly.
Other composers Marty O’Donnell (formerly Halo and Destiny), Jon Everist (Necropolis, Shadowrun), and Brendon Williams (LoL, Call of Duty) also took to Twitter to express their shock. They all referred to Stan LePard as a good colleague or role model.
Stan LePard’s Most Famous Pieces
What do we know Stan LePard for? Especially players of Guild Wars 2 are likely to recognize pieces from the deceased composer. Many of his works can be found in the soundtracks for Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire.
The music for the trailer for the currently running Icebrood Saga was also composed by him.
He also composed the distinctive soundtrack “Court of the Mad King,” the intro to the annual Halloween event.
If you play Destiny, you might be familiar with the soundtrack “First Challenge.” This was created by the composer together with Marty O’Donnell, Michael Salvatori, and C Paul Johnson:
In addition to these games, which we closely follow on MeinMMO, Stan LePard also composed for
- Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo Reach
- Flight Simulator X
- Fable 2
- Age of Empires 3
- Plants vs. Zombies
- Uno Arcade
- Peggle 2
and several other games. He even created music for Windows 98 and XP (via Soundcloud). So it is very likely that during your gaming career you have come across one of his soundtracks.
If you are a fan of good soundtracks, you will regularly come across interesting pieces, especially in MMORPGs. Final Fantasy XIV, Guild Wars 2, and also World of Warcraft can impress in this regard.
We present to you 4 MMORPG soundtracks that you must listen to.
