Sam Hulick is a Chicago-based, BAFTA nominated and NBC News award winning composer for film, television and interactive media, best known for creating the signature music for BioWare's blockbuster sci-fi franchise Mass Effect as well as original music for the fantasy role playing games Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition (2012) and Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition. With a penchant for creating powerful emotions and memorable themes, Hulick's original scores range from fantasy landscapes and sweeping sci-fi to orchestral bombast, intimate piano and small string ensembles.
Graduating from Indiana University as a computer programmer, Hulick sought to combine his passion for writing imaginative music and interactive media. In 2003, Hulick won the Game Audio Network Guild Award for young composers and scored his first title, Maximo vs. Army of Zin (2003). Hulick's career propelled to new heights when he was approached to co-write the score for Mass Effect (2007) with Jack Wall. Hulick penned various memorable compositions such as the iconic "Mass Effect Theme" as well as "The Normandy", "Uncharted Worlds", "Sovereign's Theme," "From the Wreckage," "Victory," "Uplink," and many more. The '70s/'80s inspired electronic score was lauded by critics as "One of the most memorable and unique soundtracks in gaming" (Game Informer) and won Best Original Score awards from IGN, GameSpy and GameSpot.
For Mass Effect 2 (2010) Hulick was again tapped for his inventive blending of analog synths with orchestral instrumentation. The soundtrack featured a suitably darker and more cinematic musical experience to complement the sequel's heavier subject matter. Mass Effect 2 received British Academy (BAFTA) and Spike TV VGA nominations for Best Original Score. Hulick also created the classical-influenced orchestral score for Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad (2011). The evocative, haunting music sets the mood for one of the most brutal battles in all of human history - the battle for Stalingrad.
Returning for the third chapter in the Mass Effect series, Hulick's compositions for Mass Effect 3 (2012) enhance many of the key cinematic and emotional scenes including the climactic conclusion. Described as "One of the most powerful and memorable musical scores ever created for a video game" (The Verge), Hulick's new themes include "Mars", "I Was Lost Without You", "I'm Proud of You" and "An End, Once And For All" (Mansell & Hulick). Mass Effect 3 won IGN's 2012 "People's Choice Award - Best Overall Music", GameTrailers' "Best Soundtrack of the Year" and NBC News' "Best Video Game Music Award." Hulick also composed the score for Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut which includes new and extended cinematics that feature more of the emotionally impactful material Hulick was responsible for in Mass Effect 3.
Hulick's latest assigments include composing an intensely emotional and lyrical score, recorded with piano and string soloists, for the upcoming PBS feature Jens Jensen The Living Green (2013), a documentary film celebrating the life and works of the famous late 19th Century landscape architect. Other recent credits include the sci-fi action short Hybrids (2013) (Triton Films) directed by VFX artist Patrick Kayln (Avatar, District 9) and the Webby nominated "100,000 Stars" 3D space map developed for Google.
