Julian Wagstaff lives and works in his native Edinburgh, where he is active as a composer, arranger and guitarist. The success of his stage musical John Paul Jones, set during the American Revolution, led him to the formal study of composition with Nigel Osborne in 2001.
Originally a student of German, his string orchestra piece Treptow, inspired by the Soviet war memorial in east Berlin, is frequently performed in Scotland and beyond. Julian’s output also includes rock music, a symphony, and his opera The Turing Test, which enjoyed a sell-out run on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2007.
Julian enjoys a close relationship with many leading musicians in Scotland, including the Edinburgh Quartet, who regularly perform his music. The Quartet's recording of Julian's Piano Quintet, with the Russian pianist Alina Kolonitskaya on piano, is now available on the Circular Records label, on an album entitled Frontiers and Bridges. The album also includes exciting new works by Kim-Ho Ip from China and Anothai Nitibhon from Thailand.
