JULES BUCKLEY
CONDUCTOR, ARRANGER, CURATOR, and COMPOSER
Agent: Theresa Vibberts
Territory: North America
ABOUT
Conductor, arranger, curator and composer, Jules Buckley is a unique and rare breed of artist.
Jules has collaborated with some of the most important names in music, trailblazing his way through a staggering discography of almost 70 albums - more than most artists achieve in a lifetime. He is a Grammy winner (Snarky Puppy’s album ‘Sylva’ for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, 2016) with two No.1 albums (‘Classic House’ with Pete Tong & The Heritage Orchestra, Universal, 2016, and ‘Ibiza Classics’ with Pete Tong & The Heritage Orchestra, Universal, 2017) and the go-to orchestrator for some of the world’s hottest names in music. Through his mastery of non-classical orchestral music, he has pushed the boundaries of almost all musical genres by placing them in an orchestral context, earning himself a reputation as a pioneering genre alchemist.
Jules Buckley has key roles in three of the world’s most in-demand and high profile orchestras. He is the co-founder and conductor of the Heritage Orchestra with Chris Wheeler, a genre-smashing ensemble dedicated to performing new music with a daring approach to crossing and linking musical genres. Buckley’s 12-year relationship with the Metropole Orkest included his tenure as Chief Conductor 2013 -2020 and now, an honorary Conductor. At the helm of these two orchestras, Buckley’s career has seen a string of successive highlights and remarkable achievements, performances and recording projects with international acts. In 2019, Buckley became Chief Artist in Association with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Buckley will lead the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a range of innovative projects. His first concert in the role took place at the Barbican in February 2020 with an orchestral collaboration with vocal sensation Lianne La Havas.
For the past 9 years, Buckley has taken orchestras to London’s Royal Albert Hall to present some of the BBC’s most highly acclaimed, ground-breaking BBC Proms. Buckley’s 2015 ‘Ibiza Prom’ in collaboration with BBC Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong, saw the Heritage Orchestra blow away a generation of dance music fans with a night of seminal dance music classics, while a partnership with BBC Radio 1Xtra saw Buckley and his Metropole Orkest work alongside some of the UK’s hottest grime acts including Wretch 32 and Stormzy. The following year he led the Metropole Orkest in a stunning tribute to his idol, music giant, Quincy Jones, a collaboration that continues to this day (he’s performed in Paris, the USA and Quincy’s 85th birthday at the O2 in 2018 which saw the legend himself perform his hits to Buckley’s brand new arrangements). Other BBC Prom highlights include ‘The Songs of Scott Walker’ featuring Jarvis Cocker, John Grant and Richard Hawley (which saw the project endorsed by the great man), a Late night Prom with Kamasi Washington and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and ‘New York: Sound Of A City’ developed with Chris Wheeler and the Heritage Orchestra which brought together special guests Serpentwithfeet, Hercules and Love Affair, Sharon Van Etten and Nitty Scott.
In 2019, Jules Buckley presented his 15th and 16th BBC Proms. The first, Mississippi Goddam: A Homage to Nina Simone, saw The Metropole Orkest and a stellar line-up of artists including Grammy-award winning vocal sensation Lisa Fischer and R&B vocal powerhouse Ledisi, take a fresh and bold look at the music of singer, songwriter, arranger and political activist, Nina Simone. For the second, The Breaks, Buckley explored the culture-defining music that has inspired the world of scratch DJs, hip hop and breakdancing since the 1970. Curated with Chris Wheeler, he conducted the Heritage Orchestra to honor the global phenomenon of breakbeat culture from breakdancing, MC-ing and DJ-ing to graffiti art. The night featured special guests Madcon, Alice Russell, UK Turntable royalty DJ Switch with live breaking crew Soul Mavericks to name a few. In 2020, amid the world’s Covid-19 pandemic, Buckley was one of a very few conductors to perform, live, in a socially distance setting from the Royal Albert Hall. Conducting the Britten Sinfonia, he presentsed work developed with virtuoso sitarist Anoushka Shankar, electro artist, Gold Panda and hang player, Manu Delago.
2020 also saw Jules making his debut as radio presenter, guest-presenting two seasons of BBC Radio 3’s award-winning Classical Fix podcast, curating a set of personal classical playlists for his special guests including Arlo Parks, Nadine Shah, Swindle and Cory Henry to name a few.
In addition to his impressive reputation at the Proms, Jules has led international projects and collaborations with acclaimed artists and ensembles. A few highlights include Jacob Collier and Cory Henry in 2017 with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, King’s Day Eve concert with Benjamin Clementine with Royal Concertgebouworkest in 2016, Days Off Festival in Paris with Patrick Watson and l’Orchestre national d’Île-de-France and with Snarky Puppy and the Metropole Orkest at the legendary North Sea Jazz festival, 2018. Jules has orchestrated and conducted the ‘Classic House’ albums with DJ sensation Pete Tong which reached No.1 in the UK album charts, and the ongoing live concerts with Tong and Heritage Orchestra with Chris Wheeler have toured the world to sell-out stadiums. Buckley is guest curator Cheltenham Music Festival for 2020 and 2021, exploring his passion for classical music and innovative orchestral collaborations. Other ensembles and orchestras Jules has worked with include: Rotterdam Philharmonic, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Umeå Chamber Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra (Washington D.C) and Seattle Symphony Orchestra to name a few.
Throughout his career, Jules Buckley has earned the respect of a diverse range of music makers leading to collaborations, recordings and live projects with artists including: Arctic Monkeys, Quincy Jones, Stormzy, Snarky Puppy (with whom he won a Grammy for the recording, ‘Sylva’), Basement Jaxx, Massive Attack, John Cale, Laura Mvula, José James, Henrik Schwarz, Benjamin Clementine, Skepta, George Duke, Laura Marling, Anna Calvi, Son Lux, Patrick Watson, Jessie Ware, Tori Amos, Emeli Sandé, Caro Emerald, Joshua Redman, Dizzy Rascal, Tim Minchin, Kurt Elling, Chaka Khan, Jacob Collier, Mark Ronson, Bokanté, Michael Kiwanuka, Anoushka Shankar, Manu Delago, Ibeyi, Professor Green, Jamie Cullum, Cinematic Orchestra, Dee Dee Bridgewater and more.
Jules Buckley grew up in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire where, throughout his teenage years, he explored writing and playing in large ensembles. He eventually headed to London to study at the Guildhall School of Music where he took a new path specializing in composition, picked up the conductor’s baton professionally and found his true calling.
Quite simply, by working creatively with artists and DJs, skilfully crossing genres and adding orchestral context, Buckley is redefining the rulebook of orchestral music and the role of a conductor.
“It doesn’t matter if genres seemingly clash, if the concept is strong, you can make anything happen” says Buckley. A great remixer can take any track and make something fresh out of it, this is my approach to orchestral work. I think long and hard to make it really connect and resonate with audiences.”