About
Composer
Jack Pepper (b.1999) is one of the UK's youngest commissioned composers. In his teenage years, he wrote music for the Royal Opera House, Classic FM's 25th Birthday, the Royal Philharmonic Society, for the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra's 125th Birthday, for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, The Band of HM Royal Marines and he collaborated with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Jack has recorded his work with acclaimed conductors including Sir Antonio Pappano, Vasily Petrenko and Kirill Karabits; his music has been broadcast on Classic FM and the BBC.
Alongside classical concert works, Jack is a songwriter in theatre and popular music. His work has been played at events ranging from the official Canada 150 Celebrations in Trafalgar Square, to the final ever Beating Retreat Ceremony at the iconic UK military hospital Headley Court. Jack's piece 'Chance' features on the JUNO Award-nominated album SymphRONica Upfront.
As a performer, Jack has appeared as a vocalist at Wembley Arena and was a guest on the piano alongside Platinum-selling string quartet Bond at their 20th Anniversary celebration concert.
Jack was a member of the voting panel for the 2020 and 2021 BRIT Awards and the 2020 Royal Philharmonic Society Awards.
"Brilliant, warm, generous, funny and open minded...one of England's most talked about young musicians." - WWFM The Classical Network (USA)
"cool, catchy tune[s]...fine example[s] of the fusion of styles." - The WholeNote (Canada), about Jack Pepper's 'Chance', recorded by SymphRONica
Broadcaster
Jack is one of the youngest national radio presenters in the UK. At 19, he became a presenter on Scala Radio, the UK's newest national classical radio station. Jack joins a line-up that includes some of the UK's best-loved presenters, including Simon Mayo, Angellica Bell and Mark Kermode.
His weekly show, Jack Pepper's Culture Bunker, goes behind-the-scenes in great music. His guests have included some of music's biggest stars, including Gary Barlow, soprano Renee Fleming, conductor Sir Simon Rattle, 3-time Oscar-winning composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz, percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, Oscar and Grammy-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and violinist Nicola Benedetti, as well as a TONY Awards Special from New York. Listen every Saturday 3-5pm GMT on DAB radio, online, on the app, on Sky Channel 0216 and on smart speaker.
In 2019, he produced and presented 'Insights@TheGrange', a podcast series for the Grange Festival, exploring the operas of their 2019 season.
Jack also presents and curates live events. In 2018 he was a Guest MC at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; in 2019, he hosted the Music For Youth Spotlight On: New Music at the Royal Albert Hall; in 2020, Jack introduced concerts for the Wigmore Hall.
Aged 19, Jack was named as one of the 2019 ReelWorld Radio Academy 30 Under 30, highlighting 30 people under the age of 30 in the UK radio industry showing "tenacity, talent and a proven trajectory".
YOU CAN EXPLORE SOME OF JACK'S INTERVIEWS THROUGH THE 'VIDEOS' AND 'AUDIO' TABS ABOVE.
"Genial" - The Times
Writer
Jack has written opinion pieces and blogs for The Telegraph, the Daily Mirror, BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, Slipped Disc, the Royal Philharmonic Society, Jessica Duchen's JDCMB and RadioToday, and a series of columns for Musical Opinion and Jewish News. He has been a monthly columnist for the industry publication Classical Music Magazine. Jack has also reviewed for Opera and Opera Today.
Articles about Jack's work have appeared in national publications including The Observer, the Radio Times and The i.
Jack is writing a book, 'Raising The Roof: The Colourful Characters Of Classical Music', bringing the genre to a wider audience; it is coming soon to Templar Books/ Bonnier Books.
Advocacy
Jack is particularly passionate about music education, bringing classical music and live performances to younger audiences and improving access to music in state schools; he is an Ambassador for the national UK music education charity Music For Youth.
He has also worked with the DMRC Benevolent Fund, supporting injured service personnel in their rehabilitation, and the Holocaust Educational Trust.
Jack is also involved regularly on judging and selection panels for major music and arts awards, including The BPI's BRIT Awards, The RPS Awards and The Student Radio Awards.