Jules’ relationship with the Metropole Orkest stems back to 2008 when he was appointed principal guest conductor. By 2013 at just 33, he was made chief conductor, before taking up the role of honorary conductor this year.
With Jules’ vision, the Metropole have presented critically acclaimed performances with artists including: Laura Mvula, Gregory Porter, Snarky Puppy, Tori Amos, Henrik Schwarz, Markus Stockhausen, Michael Kiwanuka, Jacob Collier and Basement Jaxx.
Jules has made the Metropole a regular at the BBC Proms: In 2015 a partnership with BBC Radio 1Xtra saw them work alongside some of the hottest grime acts including Wretch 32 and Stormzy, 2016 presented a tribute to music giant, Quincy Jones (see separate project), and 2017 ‘Beneath the Underdog’ a fetching tribute to Charles Mingus. Their collaboration with vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier lead the plaudits in 2018, and then in 2019 Jules and the Metropol worked with Grammy-award winning vocal sensation Lisa Fischer and R&B vocal powerhouse Ledisi to present Mississippi Goddam: A Homage to Nina Simone. This saw Jules’ arrangements take a fresh and bold look at the music of singer, songwriter, arranger and political activist, Nina Simone.
With Jules at the helm, the Metropol are a regular at concert halls including The Barbican (UK), Royal Albert Hall (UK), Paradiso (NL), The Olympia (FR), The Concertgebouw (NL), and Stadtpark Hamburg (DE), as well as international festivals including North Sea Jazz (NL), Jazz à Vienne (FR), North Sea Jazz Curacao (CUW), Holland Festival (NL), Musikfest Bremen (DE) and Amsterdam Dance Event (NL)
They have found critical acclaim with a series of recording projects with international acts, leading to four Grammy nominations notably the 2016 win with Snarky Puppy for ‘Sylva’ in the ‘Best Contemporary Instrumental album’ category. A career highlight Jules enthuses, “…we convinced ourselves we didn’t have a chance of winning, but going up there to collect the Grammy was unreal, I felt like a kid again”. Their continued collaboration with Jacob Collier, earned a Grammy for ‘Best Arrangement, Instrumental and Vocals’ in 2019 for the cover ‘All Night Long’.