# Inon Zur

Inon Zur (Hebrew: ינון צור,) is an Israeli-born composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 80 video games, which include Dragon Age, EverQuest, Fallout, Prince of Persia, Star Trek, the Syberia series, and Starfield. He has received multiple nominations, including three BAFTAs, and has won several awards, including an Emmy. Various music awards for his soundtracks on Men of Valor (2004), Crysis (2007), Dragon Age: Origins (2009), The Elder Scrolls: Blades (2019), Syberia: The World Before (2023), Rise of the Ronin (2024), and Starfield (2024)

## Early life

Inon Zur was born in Israel. At the age of five, he was trying to compose harmonies with his mother's singing, and became inspired by classical music. He learned to play the French horn as a child, studied piano by the age of eight, and was studying composition by the age of ten. He graduated from the Music Academy of Tel Aviv, and spent four years in the Israeli Army in an elite Armored unit. He emigrated to the United States in 1990 to study at the Dick Grove School of Music for a year, and then under private tutor Jack Smalley, a television music composer, and others for two years at the University of California, Los Angeles.

## Career

Zur began his career in 1994 by working on soundtracks for movies, such as Yellow Lotus, featured at the Sundance Film Festival. He signed on to compose for Fox Family for six years, and made soundtracks for various children's television shows produced by Saban Entertainment, including Big Bad Beetleborgs, Digimon and Power Rangers. By 2002, he estimated that he had composed the soundtrack to over 360 Power Rangers episodes. His compositions for these programs were credited to Shuki Levy and Kussa Mahchi (an allias for Haim Saban), with Zur usually only being credited as a music producer. This was allegedly so the duo could collect the music royalties. Zur and all other composers working at this company agreed to give up the rights to their compositions prior to joining. He won his first award during this period in his career, a Telly Award for his work on Power Rangers: Turbo. While he enjoyed the work, he began to want to go work somewhere "more intriguing, more advanced, and basically a place that people really appreciate music more"; his agent overcame his initial reluctance and convinced him to work in the video games industry. His first video game soundtrack was 2000's Star Trek: Klingon Academy, which he started composing for the game in 1997. Zur moved on to prestigious titles, composing for the award-winning and critically acclaimed Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal in 2001 and Icewind Dale II in 2002, among many others. Icewind Dale II earned him the first of many nominations for video game music awards, that of the Game Audio Network Guild's Music of the Year award. He continued to work on movies and television programs during these years.
Zur has made dozens of cinematic scores for trailers. His last full movie soundtrack to date was that of 2014's Reclaim. He has worked on a few television series since then; his last traditional television soundtrack was for Ghost Whisperer in 2007, though he has composed music for webisode and Animated series since then. He continued to work on numerous video games, including Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones in 2005 and Crysis in 2007. He has garnered several nominations for video game music awards, including his first win, for Men of Valor in the Best Original Instrumental track category of the 2004 Game Audio Network Guild awards.
Zur penned the original musical score for Crysis, Dragon Age, Fallout, Syberia, and Starfield franchises.
The most notable titles Zur has composed for have been Icewind Dale II (2002), EverQuest Online Adventures (2003), Men of Valor (2004), Crysis (2007), Fallout 3 (2008), Prince of Persia (2008), Dragon Age: Origins (2009), Fallout: New Vegas (2010), World of Tanks (2010), Dragon Age II (2011), Fallout 4 (2015), Fallout 76 (2018), The Elder Scrolls: Blades (2019) and, most recently, Starfield (2023).

## Performances

Zur's compositions have been played several times in live concerts. The first of these was a concert held in Seoul, South Korea, on May 30, 2006, dedicated to his music for Lineage II: Chronicle V: Oath of Blood. On August 20, 2008, music from his soundtrack to Crysis was played in Leipzig, Germany, at a Video Games Live concert. His music from Dragon Age: Origins and Prince of Persia was performed at the September 26, 2009 "A Night in Fantasia 2009" concert in Sydney, Australia, by the Eminence Symphony Orchestra. Zur was a special guest at the concert.
In an industry first, a dedicated concert of his music from Lord of the Rings: War in the North was performed each evening at the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. The one-hour concert series was conducted by Zur and performed by The Hollywood Orchestra and Choir with the participation of The Lyris Quartet and solos from celebrated vocalist Aubrey Ashburn. He originally conducted and recorded the game with the London Philharmonia Orchestra and the Pinewood Singers Choir at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.
In 2018, at the London venue the Eventim Apollo, Zur composed his different pieces from the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series during a live concert that Bethesda Game Studios co-hosted with the War Child (charity). The London Symphony Orchestra performed Zur's Starfield score at Bethesda's 10th Anniversary The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim concert in 2021. The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra gave a 10-year concert on June 25, 2023, at The Game Awards, which featured well-known video game soundtracks. The concert included a rendition of Zur's Starfield theme.

## Legacy

Zur's music has been featured in numerous top-selling game franchises. He has been described as being "internationally recognized as one of the A-list orchestral composers in the video games industry". Variety named him on a short list of top video game composers. He was listed on top 40 greatest video games composers of all time (ranked 17th by composercode.com)
In the film industry Zur specializes on cinematic scoring for film trailers. He's worked with the likes of BMG Production Music on films such as the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Hobbit, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Including dozens of other film trailer music. He's also worked with NCSOUND on several video game projects.
His songs have often been covered by numerous artists. Raney Shockne and Elizaveta did a cover of Zur's Dragon Age: Origins "I am the One" song for Dragon Age: Inquisitions. Zur was inducted into The Recording Academy as a new member in 2023.

## Musical style and influences

Zur's compositions frequently are focused on full orchestras, choir and, in some games like Prince of Persia, ethnic instruments like Arabic flutes and the woodwind duduk. He has often collaborated with the Northwest Sinfonia orchestra from Seattle, though he has on occasion used other orchestras. Whenever Zur works with a real orchestra, he always conducts it himself. He has named some of his musical influences as classical artists such as Sergey Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky, and Beethoven, movie composers like John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, and jazz artists like George Gershwin and Henry McFeeny. While he would one day like to compose music not intended to be part of a larger piece of media, he finds that the pressure of a deadline and the feedback from the developers are crucial in his development process. He feels that his music sounds best when it is in the context given by the media it was made for, though he feels that performances of the music by itself transforms it "from just a soundtrack to an art form on its own". Zur sometimes collaborates with other musicians while composing his game soundtracks; for example, he worked with Florence and the Machine to create a unique rendition of "I'm Not Calling You A Liar" for the Dragon Age II soundtrack.
Zur typically is brought in to compose for a game once it is mostly complete, though he notes that that is earlier than for films and television—where nothing changes after he starts besides post-production effects—making video game music composition a more "flexible" process. He finds that it is "crucial" for him to play a game before he can compose music for it, even if it's only a development version. Rather than compose music based around the setting in the game where it will be played, Zur composes music around the emotion that he wants the player to feel at that point in the game. While he feels that music composition technology has come far enough in recent years to no longer be a limiting factor in his music, he does feel that the music budgets for games limit what he can create. Zur feels that he is considered in the industry to be a very fast composer, which he attributes to his tendency to compose music "intuitively", rather than spending a lot of time planning it out. When not composing, Zur likes to play video games, especially those he has composed for, as well as play basketball and spend time with his family. The types of projects that he would like to work on in the future that he has not yet done are children's games and soundtracks incorporating jazz music.

## Works
### Video games

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 2000 | Star Trek: New Worlds | with Julian Soule |
| 2000 | Star Trek: Klingon Academy | |
| 2000 | Star Trek: Starfleet Command II: Empires at War | |
| 2001 | Star Trek: Starfleet Command: Orion Pirates | |
| 2001 | Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal | expansion pack; with Howard Drossin |
| 2001 | Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel | |
| 2002 | Icewind Dale II | |
| 2002 | War and Peace: 1796–1815 | |
| 2002 | Run Like Hell | |
| 2002 | Neverwinter Nights | Additional music; with Jeremy Soule |
| 2003 | EverQuest | Additional music (DLC expansions Underfoot to The Broken Mirror) |
| 2003 | EverQuest Online | Additional music (DLC expansion); with Jeremy Soule |
| 2003 | Lineage II | |
| 2003 | Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader | |
| 2003 | SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs | |
| 2004 | EverQuest II | Additional music (DLC Expansion) |
| 2004 | EverQuest War On Faydwer | music from Zur's Echoes of Faydwer |
| 2004 | Champions of Norrath | |
| 2004 | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War | Additional Music; with Jeremy Soule |
| 2004 | Power Rangers Dino Thunder | |
| 2004 | Syberia II | |
| 2004 | Crusader Kings | |
| 2004 | Shadow Ops: Red Mercury | |
| 2004 | Men of Valor | |
| 2004 | Prince of Persia: Warrior Within | with Stuart Chatwood |
| 2005 | Champions: Return to Arms | |
| 2005 | Combat: Task Force 121 | |
| 2005 | Twisted Metal: Head-On | |
| 2005 | Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones | with Stuart Chatwood |
| 2005 | Prince of Persia: Revelations | with Stuart Chatwood |
| 2005 | Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows | with Jason Graves & Alexander Brandon |
| 2005 | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Winter Assault | |
| 2006 | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade | |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow | |
| 2007 | Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts | Additional music; with Ian Livingstone & Jeremy Soule |
| 2007 | Exteel | |
| 2007 | Prince of Persia: Rival Swords | with Stuart Chatwood |
| 2007 | Naruto: Rise of a Ninja | with various others |
| 2007 | Asura | |
| 2007 | Crysis | |
| 2008 | Crysis Warhead | |
| 2008 | Fallout 3 | |
| 2008 | Naruto: The Broken Bond | |
| 2008 | Prince of Persia | with Stuart Chatwood |
| 2008 | Prince of Persia: The Fallen King | with Stuart Chatwood |
| 2008 | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Soulstorm | |
| 2009 | Dragon Age: Origins | |
| 2009 | James Cameron's Avatar: The Game | Nintendo DS version |
| 2010 | Ace Combat: Joint Assault | |
| 2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | |
| 2010 | Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening | |
| 2010 | World of Tanks | |
| 2010 | Assassin's Creed Project Legacy | |
| 2010 | StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty | with various others |
| 2011 | Rift | |
| 2011 | Dragon Age II | |
| 2011 | TERA | |
| 2011 | Thor: God of Thunder | |
| 2011 | The Lord of the Rings: War in the North | |
| 2012 | Guardians of Middle-earth | |
| 2012 | Dragon's Dogma | with various others |
| 2012 | Soulcalibur V | with various others |
| 2012 | The Amazing Spider Man | Additional music |
| 2012 | Tian Xia III | |
| 2012 | Rift: Storm legion | with various others |
| 2013 | Sacred Citadel | |
| 2013 | Ryse: Son of Rome | Trailer-A Hero Rises |
| 2013 | Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition | (music editing) with various others |
| 2013 | Heroes of Dragon Age | several songs from Dragon Age series |
| 2014 | Dragon Age: Inquisition | Cinematics & one song |
| 2014 | The Elder Scrolls Online | Early access version & Testing only |
| 2014 | Fantasia: Music Evolved | |
| 2015 | Fallout 4 | |
| 2015 | Sword Coast Legends | |
| 2016 | Hero's Song | |
| 2016 | Eagle Flight | |
| 2016 | Space Quest | Themes only |
| 2016 | Fallout Shelter | Trailer |
| 2017 | Syberia III | |
| 2017 | Kingdom Come: Deliverance | Cinematic trailer |
| 2018 | Pathfinder: Kingmaker | with Dmitry V. Silantyev |
| 2018 | Durango: Wild Lands | |
| 2018 | Battle Through the Heavens | |
| 2018 | 60 Parsecs! | |
| 2018 | Fallout 76 | |
| 2018 | PUBG Mobile | with various others |
| 2019 | The Elder Scrolls: Blades | |
| 2019 | Blacksad: Under the Skin | |
| 2019 | Fallout Shelter: Online | Main Theme |
| 2020 | The Waylanders | |
| 2020 | Prince of Persia: The Dagger of Time | |
| 2021 | Outriders | |
| 2022 | Syberia: The World Before | |
| 2023 | Starfield | |
| 2023 | Warhaven | |
| 2024 | Rise of the Rōnin | |
| 2024 | Starfield: Shattered Space | |
| 2024 | Ashfall | with Hans Zimmer |
| 2024 | Nazar | |
| 2025 | Amerzone | |
| Cancelled | Arena of Fate | |
| Cancelled | Prince of Persia 3: Kindred Blades | |
| Cancelled | StarCraft: Ghost | |

### Films

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1995 | Yellow Lotus | |
| 1997 | Ashes | |
| 1997 | Casper: A Spirited Beginning | |
| 1998 | The Refugee | |
| 1998 | Rusty: A Dog's Tale | |
| 2000 | Power Rangers in 3D: Triple Force | |
| 2001 | Digimon Adventure 02: Revenge of Diaboromon | |
| 2001 | Digimon Tamers: Battle of Adventurers | |
| 2002 | Digimon Tamers: Runaway Locomon | |
| 2002 | Digimon Frontier: Island of Lost Digimon | |
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Trailer |
| 2005 | The New World | Trailer |
| 2005 | Kingdom of Heaven | Trailer |
| 2006 | Annapolis | Trailer |
| 2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Trailer |
| 2007 | Stardust | Trailer |
| 2008 | The Tale of Despereaux | Trailer |
| 2008 | Fool's Gold | Trailer |
| 2008 | The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior | Trailer |
| 2008 | The Other Boleyn Girl | Trailer |
| 2008 | The Spiderwick Chronicles | Trailer |
| 2009 | Drag Me to Hell | Trailer |
| 2009 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Trailer |
| 2009 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | Trailer |
| 2009 | Race to Witch Mountain | Trailer |
| 2010 | Assassin's Creed: Ascendance | Short |
| 2010 | Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue | Trailer |
| 2011 | Jane Eyre | Trailer |
| 2012 | The Hobbit | Trailer |
| 2013 | The Smurfs 2 | Trailer |
| 2014 | Reclaim | |
| 2015 | Welcome to Forever | Short |
| 2015 | Fantastic Four | Trailer |
| 2015 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | Trailer |
| 2015 | The Good Dinosaur | Trailer |
| 2016 | Ghostbusters | Trailer |
| 2017 | Saber Rock | |
| 2017 | The Shape of Water | Trailer |
| 2017 | All the Money in the World | Trailer |
| 2018 | The Kindergarten Teacher | Trailer |
| 2018 | The Sisters Brothers | Trailer |
| 2019 | Knives Out | Trailer |
| 2019 | Michael vs Jason: Evil Emerges | Short (music from Fallout 76) |

### Television

| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1994 | Valley of the Dolls | |
| 1995 | Big Bad Beetleborgs | |
| 1996 | The Vision of Escaflowne | |
| 1997 | Power Rangers Turbo | |
| 1997 | Beetleborgs Metallix | |
| 1998 | Ramadhan in Indonesia | |
| 1998 | Power Rangers in Space | |
| 1998 | Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog | |
| 1998 | Like Father, Like Santa | Television film |
| 1999 | Au Pair | Television film |
| 1999 | Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot | |
| 1999 | Power Rangers Lost Galaxy | |
| 2000 | St. Patrick: The Irish Legend | |
| 2000 | Final Ascent | Television film |
| 2001 | Au Pair II | Television film |
| 2001 | Power Rangers Time Force | |
| 2007 | Ghost Whisperer | 3 episodes |
| 2010 | The Walking Dead | Trailer |
| 2016 | Fallout: The Junktown Ranger | Short |
| 2017 | Legion | Trailer |
| 2022 | We Baby Bears | Additional music |
| 2023–present | The Settled Systems: A Starfield Animated Anthology | Webisode Series |
| 2024–present | Fallout | Theme Writer and Two episodes |

## Awards and nominations

Awards and nominations :
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1997 | Telly Awards | Best Score | Power Rangers: Turbo | Won |
| 2001 | Gamespy: Game of the Year Awards | Best Original Music | Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal | Won |
| 2002 | Game Audio Network Guild | Music of the Year | Icewind Dale II | Nominated |
| 2003 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Instrumental Song | SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs – "Main Theme" | Nominated |
| 2004 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Instrumental Song | Men of Valor – "Main Theme" | Won |
| 2004 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Live Performance Recording | Men of Valor | Nominated |
| 2004 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Soundtrack Album | Men of Valor | Nominated |
| 2004 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Soundtrack Album | Shadow Ops: Red Mercury | Nominated |
| 2006 | Canadian Awards for the Electronic & Animated Arts | Best Original Musical Score | Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Dark Crusade | Nominated |
| 2008 | 5th British Academy Games Awards | Best Original Score | Fallout 3 | Nominated |
| 2008 | Spike Video Game Awards | Best Original Score | Fallout 3 | Nominated |
| 2008 | Golden Joystick Awards | Soundtrack of the Year | Fallout 3 | Nominated |
| 2008 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Vocal – Choral | Prince of Persia – "Menu Theme" | Nominated |
| 2008 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Instrumental | Prince of Persia – "Healed Land" | Nominated |
| 2008 | Motion Picture Sound Editors | Best Sound Editing - Computer Entertainment | Crysis | Nominated |
| 2009 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Song – Video Game | Dragon Age: Origins – "I Am the One" | Won |
| 2009 | Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Original Score – Video Game | Dragon Age: Origins | Nominated |
| 2009 | Game Audio Network Guild | Music of the Year | Dragon Age: Origins | Nominated |
| 2009 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Soundtrack Album | Dragon Age: Origins | Nominated |
| 2009 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Vocal – Pop | Dragon Age: Origins – "I Am the One" (High Fantasy Version) | Nominated |
| 2009 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Vocal – Pop | Dragon Age: Origins – "Lelianna's Song" | Nominated |
| 2009 | Movie Music UK Awards | Best Original Video Game Score | Dragon Age: Origins | Won |
| 2009 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Interactive Score | Crysis | Won |
| 2011 | Hollywood Music In Media Award | Best Original Score – Video Game | Dragon Age II | Nominated |
| 2011 | Hollywood Music In Media Award | Best Original Song – Video Game | Dragon Age II – "Rogue Heart" | Nominated |
| 2011 | Spike Video Game Awards | Best Song In A Game | Dragon Age II – "I’m Not Calling You A Liar" | Nominated |
| 2012 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Vocal – Pop | Dragon Age II – "Rogue Heart" | Nominated |
| 2014 | Hollywood Music In Media Award | Best Original Score - Video Game | Asura | Nominated |
| 2014 | 11th British Academy Games Awards | Music | Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved | Nominated |
| 2015 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Original Song – | Sword Coast Legends – "The Path Of Destiny" | Nominated |
| 2015 | Hollywood Music In Media Award | Best Original Song – Video Game | Sword Coast Legends – "The Path Of Destiny" | Nominated |
| 2015 | Game Audio Network Guild | Vocal Theme – Video Game | Sword Coast Legends – "The Path Of Destiny" | Nominated |
| 2015 | The Game Awards 2015 | Best Score/Soundtrack | Fallout 4 | Nominated |
| 2016 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Interactive Score | Fallout 4 | Nominated |
| 2016 | 12th British Academy Games Awards | Music | Fallout 4 | Nominated |
| 2017 | National Capital / Chesapeake Bay Emmy Awards | Documentary - Topical | Saber Rock | Won |
| 2019 | Hollywood Music In Media Award | Best Original Score/Song – Mobile Game | The Elder Scrolls: Blades | Won |
| 2019 | GoldSpirit Awards | Best Original Score for a Videogame | Fallout 76 | Nominated |
| 2023 | Game Audio Network Guild | Best Physical Soundtrack Album | Syberia: The World Before | Nominated |
| 2023 | NYX Game Awards | Best Music for PC Game | Syberia: The World Before | Won |
| 2023 | Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Original Song/Score - Mobile Video Game | PUBG Mobile | Won |
| 2024 | BMI Film & TV Awards | Video Game Award (Music) | Starfield | Won |
| 2024 | PS Blog Game of the Year Awards | Best Soundtrack | Rise of the Rōnin | Nominated |
| 2024 | PlayStation Game Awards | Traditional Sound Award (Music) | Rise of the Rōnin | Won |

## Note

* ↑ originally named "Secret Project Number Three" using music from the film Assassin's Creed: Ascendance
* ↑ Short for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds Mobile, and known in China as Game for Peace (also known as Peacekeeper Elite or He ping jing ying)