Julie Giroux on Common Time Podcast I Professional Jour… — Transcript

Julie Giroux shares her journey from a musical family to becoming an Emmy-winning composer in film, TV, and wind symphony music.

Key Takeaways

  • Early musical exposure and family influence can shape a lifelong passion for music.
  • Professional success in composing often involves mentorship and networking.
  • Composing can transition from a hobby to a career through key opportunities and collaborations.
  • Persistence and continuous creation are vital even when a career path is uncertain.
  • Diverse experiences in music, from classical to media scoring, enrich a composer's skill set.

Summary

  • Julie Giroux is an Emmy award-winning composer known for film, television, video games, and wind symphony music.
  • Her musical inspiration began early, influenced by her grandfather who played piano by ear.
  • She started composing music as a child, publishing her first piece at age 13.
  • Initially, she did not consider composing as a viable career despite early encouragement and scholarships for French horn.
  • Meeting established composers like Francis McBeth and Jim Barnes influenced her perspective on composing professionally.
  • Her career shift from hobby to professional composer was catalyzed by working with Bill Conti, famed for Olympic themes and film scores.
  • Bill Conti's involvement with LSU and ESPN led to Julie being recommended for arranging charts for a rock group at a major event.
  • The episode highlights the blend of personal history, mentorship, and opportunity in Julie's professional journey.
  • Julie emphasizes the importance of persistence and passion in pursuing a career in composition.
  • The conversation offers insights into the music industry and composing for various media.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

00:23
Speaker A
incredible episode.
00:24
Speaker A
Our guest today is Julie Jeru. Welcome, Julie.
00:28
Speaker C
Hello everybody. Thanks for having me.
00:31
Speaker A
Absolutely. So Julie is an Emmy award-winning composer of film, television, video games and wind symphony music, travels the country and we are excited to have some time today with you. John, why don't you get us started?
00:43
Speaker B
Indeed. Hi Julie, thanks so much for being here.
00:46
Speaker B
So I'm just going to get started with just some kind of backstory for our listeners. Are you able to share the story of how composing began for you and and how it inspired you to to become a composer uh for your career?
00:59
Speaker C
I guess like every musician, we all have that one pivotal moment that goes, yes, that's what I'm going to do. I I didn't have that. Um, my grandfather...
01:51
Speaker C
My grandfather played piano and uh, he couldn't read music, but he was a bartender and, you know, because of the age, you know, he was the living jukebox, basically, and he could play anything.
02:08
Speaker C
And I mean anything. All he had to do is hear it once and he could play it. And so when he would come over, and I remember, it was not much older than three, about the time when we actually as human beings can remember, is because we don't remember anything before the age of three. Uh, but uh, I just it was amazing just to see him do it.
02:36
Speaker C
And he would always tell stories all the time he was doing it. He would just make up all kinds of stuff just to entertain us all. And uh, soon as he would leave the house, I would try to play what he played. And so that's what I did. I just never really thought I was going to make a living being a composer. I was always composing, uh, but, you know, I had never...
03:32
Speaker C
I met Francis McBeth when I was about 13, maybe, and then right behind him, Jim Barnes, not far behind that, and then, uh, and then a few others. But even after meeting people that were actually making a living doing it, I didn't, I just didn't think anybody made a living being a composer.
04:00
Speaker C
I really didn't. So I just never entertained that thought, you know, so my all my scholarships were for for uh horn because I was a French horn player. And uh, uh,
04:12
Speaker C
Again, writing all through all through junior high, I was writing for band, writing for high school. I was even publishing music with Southern Music. My first piece was Mystery on the Mountain. I was 13 when I wrote it. Um, but again, I didn't think, you know, I thought it was a fun hobby. Um,
05:14
Speaker A
At what point did it go from hobby to I'm going to do this? When did that happen?
05:18
Speaker C
Yeah, that was that was with Bill. Bill Conney, who um wrote Rocky and Karate Kid and all that stuff. And uh, he won his Oscar for um, The Right Stuff.
05:28
Speaker C
So he came to um, LSU, which is where I was at. And um, he was, you know, back then the Olympics were every four years. We didn't have the two-year thing. And so, but they did do mock Olympics at the two-year mark. And so they were doing that one that particular year at LSU. So they had Bill to come do the uh, the theme music. He wrote the theme music for it.
05:59
Speaker C
He actually wrote a lot of theme music for the Olympics over the years, but uh, and they asked him, and it was ESPN. They said, well, Bill, you know, we want you to write this, we want you to do this and conduct. At that time, he had like nine or 10 themes on television that were his television shows.
06:45
Speaker C
Uh, it's a record nobody's ever going to break. And uh, and they said, and we'd like you to write some charts for us, uh, to accompany a rock group we're going to have there. And he's like, oh, no. No, I don't do that. You're going to have to get somebody else. And they said, well, who do you have any ideas? He said, no, you know, that's typical Bill too. And um,
Topics:Julie GirouxcomposerEmmy awardfilm musictelevision musicvideo game musicwind symphonymusic careerBill Contimusic composition

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