MARCH 2013 UPDATE
Circular are proud to announce the latest release from The Procession. ‘Call You’ is taken from the band’s debut album ‘We are Now Leaving the Future’.
Julian Wagstaff (Contemporary/Classical)
Julian Wagstaff
julianwagstaff.com
Julian was born in Edinburgh in 1970. He worked as a translator and interpreter in the German language, as well as a television researcher and computer programmer, before turning to music as a profession in the late 1990s. His interest in language, political history and the sciences continues to be reflected in much of his music and in his theatre writing.
His first major work was the musical John Paul Jones (2001), based on the life of the Scots-born sailor and hero of the American Revolution. In it, Julian’s eclectic compositional style (which frequently involves the integration of several very different styles within one work) began to emerge. This style was to reach greater maturity in later works such as the Symphony for Chamber Orchestra (2005). John Paul Jones was revived professionally as a concert version in 2010, in association with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
On the basis of the score for John Paul Jones, the composer was accepted to study composition at the University of Edinburgh with Professor Nigel Osborne. He was awarded a Masters degree in music from that institution in 2002, and a PhD in musical composition in 2008, the principal component of which was a chamber opera entitled The Turing Test, written for the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Julian Wagstaff’s specific interest in German history is reflected in Treptow for string orchestra (2005), his most-performed work. This atmospheric and haunting piece was inspired by the Soviet War Memorial in Treptower Park in east Berlin, and represents the composer’s attempt to grapple with the power of this awesome monument in music. Treptow was the winner of the 2005 Emre Araci Prize.
Julian was appointed Composer in Residence at King’s Buildings, the science campus of Edinburgh University, in November 2010. In 2011 he was commissioned by the Royal Society of Chemistry local section to compose a new piece of music to mark International Year of Chemistry 2011. The resulting work, entitled A Persistent Illusion, was premiered by Hebrides Ensemble in December 2011.
Julian lives in his native city, where he is active as a composer, arranger, guitarist and teacher. The composer enjoys close connections with some of Scotland’s leading musicians, and his compositions and arrangements have been performed by Scotland’s top ensembles, including the Edinburgh Quartet, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Consort of Voices and Hebrides Ensemble. He is published by Europa Edition, and is a member of the Scottish Music Centre, the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters and PRS for Music. His music appears on the Circular Records label.
Julian is co-author of the Guitarmaster music transcription software application and, outwith the world of music, the translator of a number of published books and the principal developer and designer of the NISAT database of Small Arms Transfers for the Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO), the largest public database on the arms trade in the world.
click the buttons below to visit Julian’s profiles on MySpace, Facebook, the British Academy of Composers and the Scottish Music Centre: