Ephraim Champion is an active composer (stage & screen) and musician based in Chicago, Illinois.
His music has been praised as “strongly individual,” “compelling,” and “distinctive” by the Chicago Classical Review.
Contemporary concert (classical) music: In 2021, Gaudete Brass premiered Ephraim’s work, Scenes from South Shore, Chicago, at the Ear Taxi Music Festival in Chicago. The following year, Ephraim showcased his talents with Humanhood, premiered by Constellation Men’s Ensemble for their fifth annual NOVA concert series. In 2023, Ephraim’s promising career was solidified when he was selected as the second annual Hearing in Color/La Caccina Young Composer-in-Residence. During this residency, he wrote All Things Sublime and Colossal for the virtuosic women’s acapella ensemble, La Caccina, and A Stone of Hope (Martin’s Song) for the Music Institute of Chicago’s annual MLK Celebration Concert, featuring the talents of multi-Grammy nominated pianist, Marta Aznavoorian. Ephraim’s music made its international debut with the world premiere of his Suite for the F Horn & Tenor Saxophone at the 2023 World Saxophone Congress in Spain. Shortly after, The Yamaha Tuba Duo (featuring Tuba extraordinaire, Sergio Carolino) commissioned Ephraim to write his next work, The Spectacle, which premiered in Fukuoka, Japan in March of 2024. In August, Ephraim’s piece, Vicariously Through You, was recorded as part of Project Encores, Vol. 2 album, commissioned by world-renowned classical saxophonist, Timothy McAllister.
Film/Media Scoring: Ephraim also enjoys composing for film and other media. Using his extensive orchestral background/education fused with modern, electronic sounds, he creates sonic worlds that get to the core emotional content of the film. In 2023, Ephraim joined Slightly American Productions, scoring Girls in the Back of the Club (multiple short-film festival awards) and Rejection is God’s Protection. In 2024, Ephraim scored the short romance film, My Darling, Look At Me! and Brody Wellmaker’s (mega-influencer/creator & actor) directorial debut short film, Dread.
Musician: An accomplished horn player as well, Ephraim can be heard on Leo Sowerby’s “Synconata, H. 176a” with the Andy Baker Orchestra in an album released by Cedille Records entitled Leo Sowerby: The Paul White Commissions & Other Early Works and on composer Marcus Norris’ film score for the feature film Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. starring Michael K. Sterling & Regina Hall. Currently, Ephraim serves with the 484th United States Army Reserve Band out of Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He can also be found playing horn and improvising in jazz artist Isaiah Collier’s group known as The Celestials, playing keyboard/synth for Chicago hip-hop artist (and brother) Doso in his live band Doso LIVE, championing the works of black voices in classical music playing with the all-black JULIA orchestra under Kedrick Armstrong, or even performing some of his own works on horn/piano.
Outside of music: Ephraim also maintains a (very) active presence on all socials that showcase different aspects of his musical career, to include his process, current news/projects, advice, and more. Outside of music, he enjoys writing, watching TV/film, and spending time with his amazing wife, Kianti, and their two adorable Yorkies, Heath & Ginger.
“We create for us in hopes it’s not just for us.“
Creatively, I like to describe myself as a storyteller and experience-creator through music.
“Storyteller” because I recognize that stories keep the world going around. Whether they are true or not doesn’t matter. Stories are what keep people interested. Stories are what keep me interested. Stories pull you in. You get attached, you get an experience, you leave the ordinary world (even if just for a second.) I’m drawn to stories, and I try to tell them through whatever medium of my choosing, whether through music or words (or both). I think music can bring the emotion to a story like nothing else.
And that’s where the “experience-creator” part comes in. I want to paint vivid pictures in the audience’s mind and create experiences, demonstrating the power music has to transcend. I want the listeners to forget where they are, why they’re here, and whether or not they took the meat out of the freezer. I have no interest in composing something that does nothing. I want it to have an IMPACT, and I want to reach as many people as I can.
And that’s been the case with all my collaborators. I think the beautiful thing about creativity is that we do the work for us in hopes that’s it’s not just for us.
And a quick note on collaboration: I see composing as a very collaborative process.
I understand that the moment I take the music out of my head, put it on the page, and send it to the musicians or director, I’m the one who’s usually wrong. And I cherish those moments, the moments where I don’t have to be right. Because I’m not. All I care about is having the art reach it’s max potential to increase it’s impact, and I’m smart enough to know I can’t do that alone.
The world needs the light creativity will provide. I feel like everyone is miserable, and no one believes in themselves anymore.
Let’s give them a reason.