Nicolas Repetto Selected to Conduct South Carolina All-State Orchestra and Debuts New Concert Suite from Empire Queen

Composer and conductor Nicolas Repetto has been selected to serve as conductor for the South Carolina 9th–10th Grade All-State Orchestra, an exciting opportunity that will bring him together with talented student musicians from throughout the state.

The upcoming All-State program will also feature the world premiere of Repetto’s new Concert Suite from Empire Queen: The Golden Age of Magic. Recently completed and published by DogSmile Music, the new concert work transforms Repetto’s extensive original film score into a condensed 13.5-minute orchestral experience designed for the concert stage.

The original score for Empire Queen: The Golden Age of Magic runs approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes. Repetto carefully selected and adapted material from the film to create the new Concert Suite, preserving the musical themes and dramatic arc of the original score while creating a cohesive 13.5-minute work suitable for live performance.

The film, directed by Chris Dane Owens and Jason Schulz, is currently available on Amazon Prime and has already been streamed approximately 1.5 million times. Following its world premiere, the new Concert Suite will also be available to orchestras interested in performing the work.

A Program Inspired by Film, Nature, and the Great American Concert Tradition

The All-State program also provides Repetto with an opportunity to conduct music that has played an important role in his development as a composer.

Among the works on the program is Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s The Seahawk. Korngold’s film music has been a major influence on Repetto’s own work as a film composer. His daring harmonic language, energetic fanfares, and sophisticated orchestration have helped shape Repetto’s approach to writing music for the screen. Conducting The Seahawk therefore represents a meaningful opportunity to engage directly with music from one of the composers who helped inspire his own artistic path.

The program will also feature Repetto’s ** Escenas del Iguazú (Scenes from Iguazú) **, a programmatic orchestral work inspired by his visit to Iguazú Falls in Argentina in 2018 during his honeymoon.

The immense scale and energy of the waterfalls left a lasting impression on Repetto. Escenas del Iguazú seeks to translate that experience into music, capturing both the tremendous power of the falls and the natural beauty of their surroundings.

Rounding out the program is George Gershwin’s An American in Paris. Gershwin has long been an important composer in Repetto’s musical life, particularly for his ability to bridge the worlds of jazz and classical music.

Repetto first encountered An American in Paris as a middle and high school student while participating in an All-County concert. The experience of bringing students together for several days of intensive music-making left an impression, making the opportunity to conduct the work with another group of young musicians especially meaningful.

A New Chapter for Empire Queen

The South Carolina All-State Orchestra performance represents more than just a new conducting opportunity for Repetto. It also marks the transition of Empire Queen: The Golden Age of Magic from the world of film into the concert hall.

By condensing a feature-length film score into a 13.5-minute Concert Suite, Repetto is opening the music to a new audience and giving orchestras the opportunity to experience the score as a standalone concert work.

With the world premiere approaching, DogSmile Music is proud to publish the new Concert Suite and looks forward to seeing Repetto’s music performed by the talented musicians of the South Carolina All-State Orchestra.