Los Angeles-based composer Jules Pegram's music has been performed by American Composers Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Reno Pops, and Symphony in C, and has been recorded by the Hollywood Studio Symphony at Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox Studios.
Pegram’s latest film work includes the original score to the documentary feature Choral Singing in America: Nurturing the Country’s Soul (Collaborative Films). In July 2021, Pegram could be found leading sessions at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios, serving as conductor & orchestrator for Sturdivant Adams’ evocative score to Prisoners of Paradise (AMG International Film).
Commissioned by 17 American universities, Pegram’s L.A.tudes for Band was a finalist for the 2023 National Band Association Revelli Award, and his Concerto for Alto Saxophone & Wind Ensemble was awarded the Frederick Fennell Prize (ASCAP, College Band Directors National Association).
Hello! Really enjoy the music. My brother and I are trying to become film composers and where wondering what type of things you have done in the past to become this good. How do you study? What is your thought process when you start a new piece? Again, we love the score!
Hey guys - thanks for your kind words about the music! I have always taken score study very seriously and love doing it. Thankfully RU-vid has made things much more available for everyone. In fact, you may even find yourself listening more than you write (I think often of the fact that Toni Morrison was a prolific editor before her own first novel was published; she read several novels a week for years). Just as important is to attend as many rehearsals as you can; these are far more useful than concerts because we can learn how a piece is truly assembled. Some voicings & orchestrations sound great initially whereas others take several passes to gel or are over-/under-orchestrated (it's usually over-). If film scoring is the road you pursue, then studying the craft of filmmaking is essential. This means watching as many movies/TV series as you can and analyzing them just as richly as we do music. Interviews with filmmakers, attending festivals and screenings, studying up on the latest technology - these are all critical to a media composer. This may also be of some use. A couple years back I was asked in an interview to share some nuggets of advice to aspiring composers. Here's what I said: "Listen just as much as you write. Be a lifelong student of history. Be wide-eyed and present, aware of the latest trends and the current innovators. Never compromise your vision for what others think you should write. Never stop honing your craft. Actively avoid artistic dogma. Cherish the process. Develop a thick skin. Protect your brand. Do honest work."
Man, what a refreshing piece! You've taken everything I love about 20th-century orchestra composing and meshed it with everything I love about post-modern composing! I wish I could tell you which parts were my favorite, but I truly loved every second! I did love how you created a lot of tension and misdirection before those heavenly grand chord strikes like in section C! Well done, thank you for sharing!
Wow ! Incredible contemporary music. I must start listening to more band music : certainly varied and as interesting if not more than orchestral strings wonderful percussion and brassand winds. I was open mouthed entire time . I really need to explore brass writing more . Theh use of percusion here is very knowing made me think of Jacob Druckman !
Thanks for your kind words! Really appreciate your thoughtful listening to the piece...and I'm flattered by the comparison to J Druckman, certainly one of my favorites! His lavishly orchestrated PRISM made a huge impression on me during grad school days - definitely recommend studying it w/score!
👏 ❤ This is probably one of the best modern compositions I’ve heard. Such class. All the instruments are at your disposal. Great work! That 3rd movement is out of this world.
That'd be awesome! Please reach out to me via my website and I'll get you set up with Score & Parts. Just updated the Info Box above w/the Program Note.
As a sax player, it's great to see people writing new music specifically for the instrument. As it's fairly new, relative to the other concert instruments, it's in need of more modern classical canon. Great work man 😊
Excellent composition with an eclectic mix of sounds, melodies, fragments and timbres. More new music like this should be programmed into orchestral concerts on a regular basis. Dovetailing new and historic music should be the norm.
