ephraimchampion.composer

Beyond excited to announce that I’ve been commissioned to write a piece for @lakeshore_rush and soprano voice for next year’s @eartaxifestival !! ❤️🙌🏾 I’ve been a fan of the group for some time now, and I can’t wait to dig in. Grateful to the incredible team at @newmusicchicago for this opportunity and for working hard to put together what I know will be an AMAZING festival 🔥🔥 Still a ways to go before October 2025, but you can expect periodic updates on what I’m cooking up from now until then!

SO HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE that ephraimchampion.com is now LIVE!! It was a labor of love (WordPress sucks) and will likely need an overhaul at some point in the future, but this is a good start! I tried to make this the hub for all my composing endeavors (and will eventually incorporate my writing as well). Here you’ll find everything from commission announcements to my event calendar and excerpts/samples of my music in different reels (concert music, film scores, and production/licensing/library music). But most importantly: MY SHEET MUSIC STORE IS LIVE. All of my previously composed works that have already been premiered are now available for purchase (digital/PDF full scores & parts only for now). I tried to include everything under each work: media, program notes, duration/instrumentation, press, sample pages of the score. If you all see anything iffy please do let me know. I’m not a web developer but I am a perfectionist and WordPress isn’t intuitive and I got tired of fixing things cuz I’d rather be composing music instead. Some foreseeable updates I’ll be making soon to the site: getting blog up and running, testimonials page, and overhauling my newsletter. Anywho, sometimes ya gotta just put things out into the world before you think it’s fully ready…or else, you never will. (Did I mention WordPress sucks?) Link to my website and sheet music store in my bio!! #composer #websitelaunch #music #sheetmusic #filmscore #mediacomposer #classicalmusic #wordpresssucks

As I’m digging into this recent commission, the reality is setting in (plus I haven’t really made an official announcement on my pages yet): I’m composing a piece for @timothymcallistersax and @amespianist !! Beyond thrilled to be writing an encore-type work for a world-renowned/GRAMMY-winning classical saxophonist (McAllister) and GOAT-tier collaborative pianist (Ames). Best of all, the work will be featured on the Duo’s PROJECT ENCORES, VOL 2 album (being recorded in August), which includes an all-star lineup of composers I deeply admire such as @wyntonmarsalis , @jenniferhigdon1 , and Cathy Likhuta!! Living the absolute dream. Still pinching myself. It’s gonna be so much fun! Stay tuned on my socials & newsletter for more updates on the piece (so far, working title: “Vicariously Through You”). Onward and upward ❤️🙏🏽🙌🏾 [screenshot of the Instagram announcement when I was introduced as one of the composers for the project 🙂] #composerslife #composers #composersofinstagram #composition #music #musician #newmusic #newmusicalert #classicalmusic #saxophone #piano #commission

Sometimes you get so into the grind you forget what it’s all about. And then you get comments like this ⬆️ All I want to do is share my music with as many people as possible and inspire others along the way ❤️🙌🏾 Means the world 🙏🏽💯

So many of you have been asking to hear this piece ever since my vlog about the experience (and all my posts regarding it in general), and I’m happy to announce that I’ve just uploaded the full premiere recording on my YouTube channel!! This particular excerpt is one of my favorite moments, taken from the emotional 2nd movement entitled “Manifest (Intermezzo)”. 😭 If you like this, I highly suggest you check out full premiere recording (and vlog) on my channel—link in bio!!! ❤️🙌🏾🔥 This piece is also available for purchase on my digital sheet music store (link also in bio). And stay tuned, more news to come!! 😎😜 #composer #newmusic #music #classicalmusic #concertmusc #recital #commission #premiere #saxophone #horn

Had the experience of a lifetime a week ago (it always is when traveling to a premiere of something you wrote). Decided to vlog the whole thing. Full video on my YouTube channel (link in bio-please watch cuz it took forever to edit 😭😭). SHOULD I DO MORE OF THESE?? #composer #vlog #travel #premiere

CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS!! ❤️🔥🙌🏾 Beyond thrilled that @timothymcallistersax and Adam Unsworth will be premiering my “Suite for the F Horn and Alto Saxophone” October 2nd @umichsmtd !! The event details and page can be found on my website (link in bio)! Am I gonna see any of you in Ann Arbor??? 👀 (and yes, @timothymcallistersax, the same 🐐 who, along with another 🐐, @amespianist , commissioned/recorded my latest work, “Vicariously Through You,” for the upcoming “Project Encore, Vol. 2” album—can’t wait to share that with you once it’s released!! 🔥🙌🏾) #music #composer #saxophone #worldpremiere #concerthall #classicalmusic #musician

Composers: it’s in your best interest to learn how to write well. To articulate your thoughts clearly and authentically, with as much attention to detail as you bring to placing articulations under noteheads. At this point, I probably write as much as I compose. Writing helps with clarity of thought, which helps with speaking (and communication in general). You’ll be expected to communicate your ideas often: - You’ll have “call-for-scores” applications to fill out. - You’ll have promotional and podcast interviews. - Meetings with potential clients.... - Maybe you’re writing your own text/lyrics for a vocal work. - People will inquire about your artistry and process. - You’ll have to market yourself/promote your work. - Composers will seek your advice. - You’ll have grants, emails, social media content, and DMs to write... - Maybe you have to translate musical terminology to a director. - You’ll be asked to talk about your piece in front of an audience. - Not to mention writing program/liner notes and bios! There’s nothing more frustrating than having an idea of what to say without the slightest idea of how to articulate it. We all have ambitious dreams for our art, but the reality is our art alone isn’t enough to actualize that dream. It’s going to take more than the art itself. Don’t neglect what’ll elevate your artistry out of some fallacy that it won’t. So, write frequently, even if it’s a simple journal entry each day. Creatives/artists: How often is writing involved in your work? Do you agree? Let me know in the comments!

They don’t understand why you care so much. They don’t understand your art. Why you dream as big as you do… How your stomach flutters just thinking about it. And the people you hope to reach... They don’t understand. So why listen to them? #dreams #music #art #composerslife #composer #bigdreams #impact #story

I always tell the clients who commission me to tear my music apart. To scrutinize it for every irrationality, misspelling, or misplaced articulation. Why? I want to grow. Every composer’s work improves when treated as a collaborative process. Whether it’s with the director of a film or the ensemble you’re writing for (or both), COLLABORATE. The greatest mistake we can make is to think our music is void of them. Although we may never reach the point in which our art is flawless, we can get pretty damn close. But not by ourselves. As creatives, our dreams have fooled many of us into thinking we have to go at it alone. Which fuels a fallacy that it’s all UP to us. As the primary decision-makers, it usually is. But “primary” doesn’t equate to “solely.” A lonely pursuit is never ALWAYS lonely, is it? I think that’s lovely. I think we should cherish the moments where we don’t have to heed our own advice. Because our own, sole advice won’t get us “there.” You’ll need help. You’ll need feedback. And if growth is the aim (why wouldn’t it be?) you’ll LISTEN. Don’t cling so hard to your ideas that you aren’t open to what could work better. I’m not saying everyone else is right. But I am saying you aren’t the only one who CAN be right. And when it comes to writing music and presenting it in front of musicians, you usually AREN’T right. Put your ego aside so that the art itself can reach its full potential. Art that has reached its max potential improves its IMPACT, which is all that matters. The last thing you want to do is create something that does NOTHING. (Similar to talking without saying anything…) We create for us in hopes it’s not just for us. Through COLLABORATION, the art outgrows us into something BEYOND us. As it should… Looking forward to releasing more wonderful, COLLABORATIVE compositions with you all, and looking forward to the future ones. Never hesitate to reach out ❤️🙏🏽

Composing for renowned musicians and films. But I don’t say that to brag. I’m beyond grateful that filmmakers trust me to create the “sound” for their films. Or that musicians trust me to write a new piece of music for their ensemble. Creativity has taught me that: When your heart is in it, it’ll look like it. It’ll sound like it. It’ll FEEL like it. And, it’ll resonate with your clients. Onward and upward, Imaginators ❤️🙌🏾🔥

And just like that, 25 years around the sun! It’s crazy. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there’s this secret delusion that we’ll be young forever. NOPE. And that’s the first lesson of many: ——— - Each second you spend dwelling on the past is an ounce of energy you can use to build your future. - Just because you’re you doesn’t mean you know who you are. - Creativity, as magical as it is, is also often mundane and bothersome. Half of the battle with creativity is FORCING it, not waiting for inspiration to strike. - Opportunity will come whether or not you’re ready. - If you don’t stand for anything, you aren’t standing at all, and people will RUN over you. - Don’t major in minors. Needle-moving actions only. - Stop letting people discourage you because you’re young. - Ignore the advice of those you wouldn’t trade places with. - Never keep the good ideas in your head. - Rejection is cool, but I suggest you secretly take things personally. MJ did. - There is such a thing as a healthy obsession. Countless people will tell you to slow down when you haven’t done enough. - Burnout will uproot any momentum you’ve built. - Knowledge without action is just as useless as having no knowledge at all. - Are you content being someone else’s fan? - There’s nothing wrong with social media being the “highlight reel” of your life, especially if that’s the only time you take to cherish what’s going WELL in your life. - BIG dreams only. - Artists: It’s going to take more than the art itself. Don’t neglect promoting/marketing yourself, building/nurturing relationships, and shipping your work. - The best way to learn is to throw yourself into the fire before you’ve determined how hot it is. Embrace the edge as the only way forward. - Family is important. Marriage is WORTH IT. - The only downside is to not see the upside. - The thing you’re doing now almost certainly ISN’T what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life. To get to THE thing, you may have to go through several. - What if you stopped caring whether it was going to work out for you and did it anyway?