Lee Jackson


Lee Jackson (hat by Stetson, Garland, TX)

Lee Jackson hails from Austin, Texas, where he was born on 19 November 1963. He is married and has one son, and currently lives in Garland, Texas, a suburb on the northeast corner of Dallas.

Lee has written music professionally for over 30 years now, getting his first official music job with a Garland computer game company in the early 1990s. He broke through with the popular song, “Grabbag,” the theme to the game Duke Nukem 3D, and went on to write over 100 songs for computer games alone during his tenure at the company. Since that time, he has released five albums – Calibrations, Derivations, Duke Nukem Tank Tracks, Lady Tygress’ Suite and Other Commissions, and Going Big.

Lee is a member of ASCAP and is a voting member of the Recording Academy (the GRAMMY organization), having also earned membership in the Academy’s Songwriters and Composers Wing.

As of this writing, Lee is published through Cimarron Music Press and through the International Horn Society's Online Music Sales portal. He also has several pieces self-published through J.W. Pepper, Sheet Music Plus, Sheet Music Direct, and Score Exchange.

Arrangements for Concert Band

  • Prelude No. 7 in Eb Major (from "The Well-Tempered Clavier," Book 1) (by Johann Sebastian Bach)
  • Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, 1st Movement (by Anton Bruckner)

Original Works for Concert Band

  • Central Texas Elegy
  • A Monday Overture
  • Fantasias on a Hillside Theme
  • Gigue in Bb for Concert Band

Original Works for Full Orchestra

  • Vista

Arrangements for Brass Chamber Ensemble

  • Excerpt from Symphony No. 6 in A Major (Bruckner, arr. for Euphonium Quartet)

Original Works for Brass Chamber Ensemble

  • Fanfare and Processions for Brass Quintet
  • Bohemian Galop (for Horn Sextet)

Original Works for Woodwind Chamber Ensemble

  • Woodwind Quintet No. 1
  • Theme and Tangents (for Woodwind Quintet)
  • Crosswise Dance for Low Clarinet Choir

Original Works for Mixed Chamber Ensemble

  • Interweave (for mixed brass/woodwind septet)

Original Works for Instrumental Solos

  • 3 Short Pieces for Alto Clarinet
  • 3 Short Pieces for Bb Clarinet

REVIEWS

On "Prelude No. 7 in Eb Major":

  • "A beautifully arranged masterpiece by J.S. Bach, 'Prelude No. 7' is a perfect composition to show the musical proficiency of your ensemble."

Andy Isca, "New Music Review," Journal of the Association of Concert Bands, September 2025 issue

On "Fantasias on a Hillside Theme":

  • "With some nice imaginative scoring touches and musical invention, I found this to be quite enjoyable and engaging even though I’m not that into band music. Good job Lee."

Mike Hewer, Award-Winning British Composer, in the TalkClassical forums, 27 January 2025

Compositions

Central Texas Elegy
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"Central Texas Elegy" is a work for concert band / wind ensemble, and is dedicated to those lost in the Central Texas flooding disaster that happened on the July 4th weekend of 2025. At least 137 people lost their lives in the flood, and at least two more are still missing. Since Central Texas is where I was born (in Travis County, where 9 people lost their lives), I chose to write this piece in their honor.
Vista
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"Vista" is my first work for full orchestra. It was composed in response to a call for works by the Pegasus orchestra out of New York/New Jersey (unfortunately, another one of my works that didn't win). The piece is based around "Americana" motifs and has a decidedly "bravura" style.
Bohemian Galop
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"Bohemian Galop" was my entry into the 2024 Southeast Horn Workshop Horn Ensemble Competition Contest. It's written for six Horns in F and runs just under 5 minutes. The work was inspired by scenes of a hunting party galloping through the Bohemian landscape.
3 Short Pieces for Alto Clarinet
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"3 Short Pieces for Alto Clarinet" is my first-ever work for solo instrument with piano accompaniment. I chose the Alto Clarinet for three reasons: first, because there are very few solos written for the instrument, second, because I played it myself in college and enjoyed it, and finally, simply because the inspiration hit me. As the name would imply, the work consists of three movements - a rather normal introduction, a rondo-esque slow movement, and a dance finale in 6/8 time. The whole thing clocks in at just under 10 minutes' worth of playing time. It would probably rank as a Class I solo if it were on the Texas UIL prescribed music list, which it isn't just yet (I hope to change that soon enough).