Pinnacle College has assembled an advisory board from some of the best professionals in the industry working in video game sound and music. This group of luminaries helps to shape the Video Game Sound Designer curriculum and makes sure that Pinnacle College is producing graduates that are needed in the industry today

Don Veca
Senior Audio Director, Electronic Arts

After spending 18 years at Electronic Arts, Don Veca is an Audio Director for Activision and is credited with over 30 games. Don started working in game audio because he had a background in both audio and computer science. Starting at EA as an audio tools programmer, he soon cross-faded into music and sound design. His first game as an Audio Director was Road Rash III (Sega Genesis), and his most recent game was Dead Space, winner of 20 audio awards including AIAS, BAFTA, GANG, and GDC. But all this is really just a hobby -- he¹s actually a Jazz bass player, just in case the game audio thing doesn't pan out.

Victor Rodriguez
Music Director, THQ; Board of Directors, G.A.N.G.

Victor Rodriguez is the Music Director of THQ, one of the world's largest video game publishers. A former management executive at several music publishers and labels including Sony/BMG, he has worked extensively with the industry's top artists to provide music for hundreds of games, films and television programs. He is also a published author and has spent time in many different countries, but always manages to find his way back to Los Angeles, where he currently lives.

Lennie Moore
Composer; Educator; Advisory Board Chairman

For over 20 years Lennie Moore has been a proven force as an accomplished composer, orchestrator and arranger of music for videogames, film and television. He has composed music on many videogames including Star Wars: The Old Republic, Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers, Dirty Harry, Outcast, Dragonshard, War of the Ring, and additional music for Prince Caspian, Sonic and the Black Knight. He has also developed and taught composing for Video Games courses at USC Thornton School of Music, UCLA Extension, and he co-developed the first accredited degree program for Game Audio and Interactive Media at Pinnacle College.

Tommy Tallarico
Video Games Live; Founder, CEO and Chairman, G.A.N.G.

Tommy Tallarico has been writing music for video games for more than 20 years. He has won over 45 industry awards and has worked on more than 275 game titles. He currently holds 3 Guinness World Records including the person who has worked on the most commercially released video games. In 2002, he created the critically acclaimed Video Games Live, which features music from the greatest video games performed by top orchestras and choirs around the world combined with synchronized video footage, lasers, lights, special effects, interactivity and live action to create an explosive and unique one-of-a-kind entertainment experience.

Tommy was the first musician to release a video game soundtrack worldwide (Tommy Tallarico¹s Greatest Hits Vol. 1 Capitol Records). He was one of the first musicians to ever use live guitar and 3-D audio in a video game (The Terminator), and was instrumental in bringing true digital interactive 5.1 surround to the gaming world. Tommy is the founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), an advisory board member for the Game Developers Conference, a governor for the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS/GRAMMY's), a spokesperson for the Entertainment Consumers Association, a proud member of the International Game Developers Association and a nominating peer panel leader for the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.

Paul Lipson
COO, Pyramind; President, G.A.N.G.

For over a decade, Paul Lipson has refined his skills in music, management, strategy, consulting, and education. Lipson entered the game industry in the late 90‘s when he founded Hit Point Music – an audio content development company specializing in music for games, film and television. His teams at HPM (and now at Pyramind Inc.) have worked with a dazzling array of “A-list” clients including Sega, LucasArts, 2K Games, SCEA, EA, THQ, Microsoft, Harmonix, etc.

Lispon currently serves as the President of the Game Audio Network Guild (GANG) and the Chief Operating Officer of Pyramind, Inc. He is an active speaker and presenter, and has conducted panels, lectures and master classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University, Musician’s Institute, SIGGRAPH, GDC, GameSoundCon, AES Conference, New England Conservatory, The Connecticut Film Festival, and at the Conservatory of Pernambuco in Brazil.

Lipson has also studied music for twenty-five years, and has enjoyed a longstanding career as a performer, leading his ensembles at venues across the United States, Southeast Asia, Europe, and Brazil. He previously served as the Chief Academic Officer at Expression College for Digital Arts, and held the post of Director of The Learning through Music and Technology Initiative at the LCG (Boston). Lipson holds a BM and MM with highest distinction from the world-renowned New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He is a member of the International Game Developers Association, The Music Educators National Conference, BMI, The Recording Academy P&E Wing Advisory Council, and the Game Audio Network Guild.

Ken Felton
Sound Design Manager, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Ken Felton has made significant contributions to over 50 game titles during his 14 years in the game audio industry. He acted as audio lead and audio director in approximately half of shipped titles (Including 12 years at EA, and a few at Sony). Felton has always worked in audio production, whether he had a hand in sound/music mixing, dialog direction, sound design, tools or implementation pipeline design.

Felton currently works for Sony Computer Entertainment America. He manages the Foster City sound team, which develops 1st party PlayStation titles. He also manages the 13-room Foster City audio facility. Felton believes his wide range of roles in game audio gives him a solid base in general audio, because he has been responsible for dialog, music, sound effects, tools, and all of the above on numerous projects.

Prior to working at Sony Computer Entertainment America, Felton was Audio Director at Electronic Arts where he was responsible for all sound on games. His main goal is to raise the bar in game audio.

Alexander Brandon
Audio Director, Heatwave Interactive; Board of Directors, G.A.N.G.

Alexander Brandon is a U.S. musician and former member of Straylight Productions. He composed music mostly for games produced by Epic Games, or games based on Epic technology, including Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Deus Ex, Tyrian, and Jazz Jackrabbit 2. He worked in several MOD music groups over his composing years in the late 90's, including the Kosmic Free Music Foundation. During that time he also composed for several musicdisks such as Return to Stage 9.

Brandon has built several audio departments, starting with Ion Storm Austin in mid 2000. This was followed with an audio director position at Midway Home Entertainment in San Diego until 2007, when he started the audio department at Obsidian Entertainment. Since February 2009 he has been working at Heatwave Interactive.