JASPER EAGLESFIELD
James is one of the composers selected for our Opus 1 scheme for 2023. Here he takes the Opus 1 Q&A challenge.
How did you get into composing?
I used to play around on software like GarageBand, using samples etc. I really got into composing around the age of 11, then started to take a lot more seriously when I joined the Britten Sinfonia Academy aged 13, meeting people and getting things played.
What sort of music do you like to write?
It changes with every piece, but I love big sounds, tiny sounds, orchestras, electric guitars, loud bangs, long silences and everything in between. I love sick irony, but also deep sincerity, thinking very carefully about how it hits all those who hear it on both an immediate and deeper analytical level.
What excites you most about being part of Opus 1?
The opportunity to write for such amazing experienced players, and to be able to work with them throughout the composition process, not just at the end!
What 3 pieces of music would you have to have on your desert island?
Poulenc: Sinfonietta
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake
Billy Joel: Scenes From An Italian Restaurant
About Jasper
London-based composer Jasper Eaglesfield currently studies composition at the Royal College Of Music in London under Kenneth Hesketh and Dr Jonathan Cole, as a Big Give Scholar. In 2019 he won the SoundWorld Young Composer’s Prize and in June 2022 he won the RCM Composers’ Concerto Competition. Jasper has worked with ensembles including The Brodsky Quartet and Explore Ensemble and in 2023 collaborated with the English National Ballet School on a new one-act ballet.
Listen to Jasper's music on his Soundcloud page.
