Jack Pepper

About Jack Pepper

Jack is one of the UK’s youngest commissioned composers and youngest-ever national radio presenter. He spent his teens composing classical orchestral works for the Royal Opera House, Bournemouth Symphony and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestras, and now in his 20s has focused on songwriting. He has a major stage musical in development, and in 2025 he was asked to write a song for HM King Charles III. Jack was named one of The King's Foundation's 35 Under 35, recognising young 'makers and change makers' who represent the changes His Majesty wants to see in the world.

Jack has been with Magic Classical from the start, helping launch its predecessor Scala Radio aged 19. His guests have included Gary Barlow, Katherine Jenkins, Simon Rattle, Lang Lang and Renée Fleming. His show provides a light-hearted behind-the-scenes take on classical music and the cultural world, with star guests, composer gossip and the brightest stories from the week’s news. He’s here every weekend afternoon, 2-6pm.

Favourite classical composer: Francis Poulenc, because he wrote whatever came to his heart. At a time where people stuck to the rule book, he wrote music that he felt.

Desert island classical piece: Gershwin – Rhapsody in Blue. This song brings jazz into the classical concert hall with all the energy of a young man. As Gershwin once said, “jazz is the energy stored up in America” and we can really feel that in this song.

Absolutely essential film score: The Two Faces of January – music by Alberto Iglesias. It’s inventive, edgy and you can listen to it away from the movie.

Classical tune most likely to sing in the shower: I tend to compose while in the shower, brain doodling away! However, if I was to sing in the shower it would have to be Brahms – Hungarian Dance Number Five