The 2015 Commissioned Composer is Julie Ann Giroux. Julie Ann Giroux was born in Fairhaven, Mass. on Dec. 12, 1961, and began playing the piano a few years later. By the age of 8, she began composing. Several years and family relocations later, Julie attended Jack Hayes Junior High School. She composed her first concert band work in the 8th grade at the age of 13. She attended Ouachita Parish High School in Monroe, La., graduating in 1979. She played the french horn in the school bands and played piano for the choir, all the while composing various types of music, including piano works, band works, solo instrumental works, and vocal works.
Julie attended college at Louisiana State University, receiving her bachelor’s degree in music performance, while continuing to compose band and orchestra works. At this time, she also began composing commercially. In 1981 she published her first band work. Literally days after college graduation, Julie had the opportunity to arrange and conduct several arrangements for a live ESPN broadcast for the National Sportsfest held in Baton Rouge, La. Composer Bill Conti had also been hired to compose and conduct music for the same event. Shortly after that, Conti invited Julie out to Hollywood to work on the mini-series North and South.
Julie went on to compose and orchestrate music for many Television and Films and received her first of three Emmy nominations in 1989-1990. In 1991-1992, Julie won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Direction at the 64th Annual Academy Awards.
Julie was a Women In Music speaker at the 1999 National Convention in St. Louis, where she also received the OSMA (Outstanding Service to Music Award) and Honorary Membership into the National Chapter of Tau Beta Sigma.
When she won her first Emmy Award, she was the first woman and the youngest person ever to win the award in that category. A member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), her credits include White Men Can’t Jump, Masters of the Universe, North and South, North and South II, Broadcast News, Blaze, Dynasty, and multiple Academy and Emmy Awards shows. During her career Julie has had the honor of scoring for Celene Dion, Paula Abdul, Jerry Orbach, Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli, Bryan Adams, Peabo Bryson, Angela Lansbury, Jon Bon Jovi, Madonna, Reba McEntire, Little Richard, Billy Crystal, Michael Jackson and many, many others.