Guest ArtistsJustin Freer, conductor

American composer/conductor Justin Freer was born and raised in Huntington Beach, CA. He has established himself as one of the West Coast’s most exciting musical voices and has quickly become a highly sought-after conductor and producer of film music concerts around the world. Mr. Freer began his formal studies on trumpet, but quickly turned to piano and composition, composing his first work at age 11 and giving his professional conducting debut at age 16.

Continually composing for various different media, he has written music for world-renowned trumpeters Doc Severinson and Jens Lindemann and continues to be in demand as a composer and conductor for everything from orchestral literature to chamber music around the world.

He has served as composer for several independent films and has written motion picture advertising music for some of 20th Century Fox Studios’ biggest campaigns, including Avatar, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Aliens in the Attic. As a conductor Mr. Freer has appeared with some of the most well-known orchestras in the world, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony. In upcoming seasons he will guest conduct the Minnesota Orchestra as well as the orchestras of Dublin, Paris, Philadelphia, Sydney, Toronto and others.

Renowned wind conductor and Oxford Round Table Scholar Dr. Rikard Hansen has noted that, “In totality, Freer’s exploration in musical sound evoke moments of highly charged drama, alarming strife and serene reflection.”

Mr. Freer has been recognized with numerous grants and awards from organizations including ASCAP, BMI, the Society of Composers and Lyricists and the Henry Mancini Estate. He is the Founder and President of CineConcerts, a company dedicated to the preservation and concert presentation of film, curating and conducting full length music score performances live with film for such wide ranging titles as Gladiator, The Godfather, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, It’s A Wonderful Life and most recently Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Mr. Freer earned both his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Music Composition from UCLA, where his principal composition teachers included Paul Chihara and Ian Krouse. In addition, he was mentored by legendary composer/conductor Jerry Goldsmith.