Welcome

Justin Raines holds a bachelors degree in Music Theory and Composition from New Mexico State University As an active composer, Mr. Raines has had music performed all over the world. The Tad Wind Symphony from Tokyo, Japan recently recorded Dreams of Flight on their CD “A Movement for Rosa,” which can be found in music stores all over the Eastern Hemisphere and worldwide via the Internet. Justin’s versatile writing style has made his music accessible to any ensemble from chamber music to choral music, and from stage productions to film scores. He is currently accepting commissions for future projects and concerts.

Throughout his short career, Raines has had the opportunity to work and collaborate with many talented and creative artists. Under the guidance of Tony Award-winning writer Mark Medoff (Children of a Lesser God), Justin has composed music for many high-profile projects including orchestration work on the new musical We Are Enron, which was co-created by Christine Sanders and Bradford Hodgson. Raines also collaborated with Medoff on the film 100 MPG, the first major project completed by the new Creative Media Institute at New Mexico State University.

In 2005, Dr. James Shearer commissioned Raines to write a new work for horn, tuba, and piano, The Haunted America Suite, which has become one of his most popular compositions to date. This work has enjoyed performances throughout the greater Southwest, including performances at the University of Arizona, the University of Texas, Texas State University, Texas Tech, and Mary Hardin Baylor. The work will soon be recorded for international commercial release on Summit Records.

Mr. Raines was recently commissioned by the El Paso Conservatory of Music and the El Paso Brass Quintet to write three new works for choir, brass quintet, and pipe organ based on the texts Oh come, oh come Emmanuel, Hodie Christus natus est, and Indulci jubilo. Currently, he is in the process of completing a new work for saxophone, flute, and piano that will be premiered at the North American Saxophone Alliance Conference in Athens, Georgia in March, 2010. No stranger to conference commissions, in 2003, Raines composed Some High Notes, a Few Low Notes, and One Too Many Trumpets for the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. The work was based on the famous trumpet exercise book “High Notes, Low Notes, and All Those In Between” by noted trumpet instructor John Haynie. 50 of the teacher's former students from all walks of life gathered on stage to perform this work and pay homage to their mentor. In 2004, Justin was invited to compose a new work using fragments of famous Trumpet excerpts and solos. The NMSU Trumpet Ensemble premiered Trumpet Soup at the International Trumpet Guild Conference in Denver, Colorado.

Justin Raines was born in El Paso, Texas and attended school in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, where he played tuba in the music program. He began actively composing during his first year at New Mexico State University, where he wrote music for the NMSU Symphonic Wind ensemble and the NMSU University Singers. Raines currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he is pursuing an advanced degree in music composition from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas under the mentorship of Dr. Jorge Grossmann and Virgo Baley.