Julie Giroux at the Piano performing her work Cordoba at Houston, Texas in 2010

Julie Ann Giroux (born December 12, 1961 in

Fairhaven, Massachusetts Fairhaven (Massachusett: ) is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the South Coast of Massachusetts where the Acushnet River flows into Buzzards Bay, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The town shares a harbor wit ...

) is an American pianist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

l, choral,

chamber Chamber or the chamber may refer to: In government and organizations * Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests *Legislative chamber, in politics * Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...

, and numerous

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

works.

Biography

Giroux graduated from

Ouachita Parish Ouachita Parish (French: ''Paroisse d'Ouachita'') is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,368. The parish seat is Monroe. The parish was formed in 1807. Ouachita Parish i ...

High School, in

Monroe, Louisiana Monroe (historically french: Poste-du-Ouachita) is the eighth-largest city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and parish seat of Ouachita Parish. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 47,702, it is the principal city of the Monroe metropolita ...

and earned a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of prescr ...

in Performance from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

. During her college years, Giroux composed several concert band works which were published by Southern Music Company.Southern Music Company Composers
at www.southernmusic.com Immediately after graduation she traveled to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and began orchestrating under the employ of American composer

Bill Conti William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor, best known for his film scores, including ''Rocky'' (and four of its sequels), ''The Karate Kid'' (and all of its sequels), '' For Your Eyes Only'', ''Dynasty'' (and its ...

for the Television Mini Series ''

North and South North and South may refer to: Literature * ''North and South'' (Gaskell novel), an 1854 novel by Elizabeth Gaskell * ''North and South'' (trilogy), a series of novels by John Jakes (1982–1987) ** ''North and South'' (Jakes novel), first novel ...

''. While in Los Angeles Giroux studied with several composers and

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

s including Bill Conti, Jack Eskew and Greg McRitchie. From 1985 to 1997, Julie Giroux orchestrated for television and films including ''

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is an annual custom on 1 April consisting of practical jokes and hoaxes. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fools!" at the recipient. Mass media can be involved in these pranks, which ma ...

'', ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...

'',The Television series Dynasty
at www.imdb.com ''North and South'',The Mini Series North and South
at www.imdb.com ''North and South Book II'',The Mini Series North and South Book II
at www.imdb.com ''

The Karate Kid Part II ''The Karate Kid Part II'' is a 1986 American martial arts drama film written by Robert Mark Kamen and directed by John G. Avildsen. It is the second installment in the ''Karate Kid'' franchise and the sequel to the 1984 film ''The Karate Kid'', ...

'', '' Broadcast News'', ''

Masters of the Universe ''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...

'',Masters of the Universe
at www.imdb.com ''

White Men Can't Jump ''White Men Can't Jump'' is a 1992 American sports comedy film written and directed by Ron Shelton. It stars Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson as streetball hustlers. The film was released in the United States on March 27, 1992, by 20th Century ...

'',White Men Can't Jump
at www.imdb.com and '' Blaze''.Blaze
at www.imdb.com In 1997, Giroux began to compose heavily for concert bands and orchestras publishing exclusively with Musica Propria.Musica Propria Publishing Company
at www.musicapropria.com In 2004 Gia Publications, Inc.Composers on Composing for Band, Volume II.
at giamusic.com published the book entitled "Composers on Composing for Band, Volume Two" which features a chapter written by Julie Giroux. Her insightful chapter gives a down to earth description which is often humorous of her personal methods and techniques for composing for bands. In 2009, Giroux, an accomplished pianist, performed her latest work ''Cordoba''
a
Julie Giroux's Official Website
/ref> for Solo

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and Concert Band in five U.S. cities and attended the premiere of ''Arcus IX'', a work for Solo F

Tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

and Concert BandArcus IX a work for Solo F Tuba and Concert Band
a
Julie Giroux's Official Website
/ref> at

Blinn College Blinn College is a public junior college in Brenham, Texas, with additional campuses in Bryan, Schulenburg, and Sealy. Brenham is Blinn's main campus, with dormitories and apartments. History Blinn was established as Mission Institute in 1 ...

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...

. Her 2009 Film and documentary orchestrations and compositions include the ongoing project "Call for Green China"Call for a Green China (2007 production)
at www.worldbank.org which primarily funded by

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

was recorded, performed and broadcast live in China in 2007. In 2009 the project was extended with new musical material, recorded and set to tour seven cities in China where the show will be performed live. Giroux's Symphony No. V "Elements" by the Eastern Wind Symphony, featuring Conductor Todd Nichols premiered on June 9, 2018. Her trumpet concerto commissioned by Conductor Ray Cramer, The

Musashino Academia Musicae , located in Tokyo, Japan, is a music conservatory founded in 1929. After World War II, the music school expanded, becoming the Musashino College of Music. It now has educational sites in Nerima, Iruma, Saitama, and Tama, Tokyo. Concert halls ...

and principal trumpet

Christopher Martin (trumpeter) Christopher Martin is an American trumpet player who was named the principal trumpet of the New York Philharmonic in May 2016 and began his tenure there in September 2016. He has also served as Principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra ( ...

of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

premiered by the commissioners at The Midwest Clinic in December 2018. An advocate of gun control and mental health awareness, Mrs. Giroux composed the work ''My Soul to Keep'' as a way to fight violence with music. In addition to its poignant lyrics and music, Giroux has made the work "Free, for everybody, forever". She has created several different settings, from acapella SATB choir to symphonic band with choir. Orchestral and vocal arrangements will also be added. The premiere took place in Orlando, Florida, the place of the second largest mass shooting in the U.S., with the National LGBT Pride Symphonic Band on October 13, 2019. The next large concert will be in Las Vegas, Nevada in October 2020, the site of the largest mass shooting in American history. The free music may be downloaded on her websit
My Soul to Keep
Giroux is a Member of

American Bandmasters Association The American Bandmasters Association (ABA) was formed in 1929 by Edwin Franko Goldman to promote concert band music.Raoul F. Camus. "American Bandmasters Association." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/sub ...

(ABA)and an honorary brother of the Omicron chapter of

Kappa Kappa Psi Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity (, colloquially referred to as KKPsi), is a fraternity for college and university band members in the United States. It was founded on November 27, 1919, on Thanksgiving Day, at Oklahoma Agricul ...

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

. She was initiated into the fraternity on April 2, 2005 and in December, 2017 she was awarded the

Distinguished Service to Music Medal The Distinguished Service to Music Medal is an award presented by Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity. It is awarded to people who have contributed to the advancement of the wind band "as a cultural, musical and educational medium. ...

. Julie Giroux currently resides in Madison, Mississippi and continues to compose, orchestrate and arrange for television, movies, video games, wind bands and orchestras.

Published compositions

Giroux's concert works are published by Musica Propria and Southern Music Company. Most have been recorded by Mark Custom Recordings, Mark Custom Recording Services
at www.markcustom.com Fontec,Fontec
at www.fontec.co.jp Klavier,Klavier
at www.klavier-records.com and Naxos.Naxos
at www.naxos.com Numerous United States Military Band recordings include her works. Those compact discs can be obtained by contacting the appropriate military band or purchased through various labels. All of the Concert Band/Wind Ensemble listed works are Published and most can be listened to at Giroux's official website.The Official Website of Julie Giroux
Julie Giroux's Official Website

Orchestra

* ''Fort McHenry Suite'' *# The Rockets Red Glare *# Dimly Seen Through the Mists of the Deep *# Freemen Shall Stand * ''Arcus IX'' * ''La Mezquita de Cordoba'' * ''Moorish Piano Concerto'' for Piano and Orchestra in Four Movements

Concert band and wind ensemble

* A Time to Dance * All Good Things *Always * Amaranthine * Arcus IX (for solo f tuba and band) * Autumn Rose (2017) * Before the Sun (2013) * Boston Liberties (2009) * Carnaval! (2013) * Celestial Seas (2014) * Chorale for Wind Band & Melodic Percussion (2016) * Circus Franticus * Cordoba (for solo piano and band)2009 * Crown of Thorns * Dragon Sky (2017) * Dream Dancer * Empire * Fantasie in French * Field of Dreams (2019) * Fort McHenry Suite * Freedom Rising * Glenbury Grove * Glorious Light * (The)Grace in Being (2013) * Hands of Mercy * HardDrive (2010) * Husaria Cavalry Overture * Hymn for the Innocent (2017) * Il Burlone * I'll Be Home A'fore Ye * Imbizo * Impressions (2017) * In My Father's Eyes (female voices & Wind Band)(2017) * Italian Rhapsody (2009) * J (2017) * Journey Through Orion * Just Flyin' (2016) * K2 (2012) * Kalanu * KHAN (2008) * La Mezquita de Cordoba (2007) * Legacy * Let Your Spirit Sing * Louisiana Parish Sketches * Mambo Perro Loco * March of the Sun Dried Tomatoes * Medalist Fanfare & Celebration (2014) * Movin' On Down the Line * Mystery on Mena Mountain (1979) * No Man's Land (2017) * Nothing That Is * Of Blood & Stone: ''The Pyramids of Giza'' (2015) * One Life Beautiful (2010) * OPA! (2017) * Ouachita * Our Cast Aways (2018) * Outlander (2009) * Overture in Five Flat * Paprikash (2014) * Poseidon * Primality! * Prisoner of the Ring (1984) * Riften Wed (2014) * Shadow Falls (2013) * Shine (2017) * Space Symphony * Strathcona Suite * Swashbuckler * The Ash Grove (2019) * The Bonsai Tree (2010) * The Hearthstone (2016) * The Grace in Being (2015-2017) * The Greatest Generation * The Nature of the Beast * The Necromancer * The Speed of Heat (2011) * Three Fanfares * Tiger Tail March * To Walk With Wings * Trillium * Twelve Gallon Hat (2013) * Under the Willow (2015) * Vigils Keep * Vortex (2016) * Wagon Trail * West Wind Overture * What Goes in the Night * When Country Comes to Town * Where the Red Fern Grows (2016)

Symphonies for concert band and wind ensemble

* Symphony No. I ''Culloden'' (3 Movements) *# Heilan Lochs, Bairns & Heather *# I Hae Grat for Tho' I Kend *# We Toomed Our Stoops for the Gaudy Sodgers * Symphony No. II ''No Finer Calling'' (3 Movements) *# Integrity March *# Far From Home *# Honor Above All * Symphony No. III ''A Symphony of Fables'' (5 Movements) *# The Lion and the Mouse *# The Pied Piper of Hamelin *# The Tortoise and the Hare *# The Ugly Duckling *# The Three Billy Goats Gruff * Symphony No. IV ''Bookmarks from Japan'' (composed in 2013 - 6 Movements) *# Mount Fuji - "''Fuji-san''" *# Nihonbashi - "''Market Bridge''" *# The Great Wave off Kanagawa - "''The Life of One Wave''" *# Kinryuzan Temple in Asakusa - "''Thunder Gate''" *# Evening Snow at Kambara - "''Light is the Touch''" *# Hakone - "''Drifting''" * Symphony No. V ''ELEMENTS'' - (composed in 2017-2018 - 3 Movements) *# Sun *# Rain *# Wind

Arrangements

* Silent Night in Gotham * A Stocking Full of Composers * Christmas with Mozart * O Holy Night (arrangement for solo soprano and band) * Nearer My God to Thee * Christmas & Sousa Forever! * Peter Patapan * The Little Bolero Boy * Hark! Those Jingle Bells are Smokin' * Merrily on High * All Through the Night * The First Noel * The 12 Days of Christmas * What Child is Ringing those Bells? * I Got Rhythm, for Christmas * Jingle them Bells * Three Wise Guys * Away in the Manger * Christmas Toons * One Torch, Two Women, Three Ships and Men Rejoicing * The Blue Danube Christmas Waltz * I'll Be Home for Christmas (Brass Feature) * A Very Merry Heart & Soul * Nutcracker Fantasia * Concerto in F Minor, Op. 8, No. 4(RV297), "L'inverno" 1st Movement (Winter)- Vivaldi (Woodwind Feature) * Drummer Boy Charlie (Percussion & Rhythm Feature)

Recordings

; The Music of Julie Giroux : Released by Mark Masters in 2010, recorded by the University of Texas at El Paso Wind Symphony with Ron Hufstader conducting. ; Julie Giroux Presents "Concert Band Christmas Gone Crazy" : Released by Mark Masters in 2011, recorded by the University of Texas at El Paso Wind Symphony with Ron Hufstader conducting. ; Jingle them Bells - Christmas Favorites Re-imagined by Julie Giroux : Released by Klavier, Distributed by Naxos - UPC:019688704322, Item Number: K 77043, Release Date: Oct 30, 2012. Performed by the University of North Texas Symphonic Band, Dennis Fisher conducting. ; A Few Notes Between Friends - The Music of Julie Giroux : Released by Klavier, Distributed by Naxos - Released: Nov 11, 2014℗ 2014 Klavier. Performed by the University of North Texas Symphonic Band, Dennis Fisher, Paula Crider, Bruce Gilkes, Brendan Hagan, Bill Conti, Ray Cramer, Lowell Graham, Alan Sierichs & Julie Giroux conducting. ; SHINE - Julie Giroux : Released by Klavier, Distributed by Naxos - Released April 20, 2018. Performed by the University of North Texas Symphonic Band, Dennis Fisher Conducting. Bruce Leeks Recording Engineer. ; ELEMENTS - Julie Giroux - The Eastern Wind Symphony :Audio CD - August 9, 2019, Label: Mark Records, ASIN: B07T4N5BG3