Now, the 37-year-old former Dunedin man is about to have another of his compositions performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) — this time in the Dunedin Town Hall tomorrow.
Mr Jensen said his piece was called Hegemony and was essentially a rescoring of the introduction music to the Game of Thrones television fantasy drama series.
"It’s a brand new composition and it’s designed to fit with the opening sequence of the show.
"I was reading on Twitter that someone didn’t like the Game of Thrones introduction music, so I thought I would have a go at rescoring it.
"It incorporates what is a very complex situation with lots of interlocking political gears, swords and battles.
"The original was very good ... but mine is different."
His piece and another by Dunedin composer Chris Geddes were chosen by the NZSO after the orchestra "put the feelers out" for submissions by local composers to add to their concert programme, he said.
"This is the first public performance of my piece — it’s the world premiere — and by one of the world’s top orchestras, no less.
"Having one of my pieces played by the NZSO is wonderful."
The piece will be played as part of the NZSO’s Movie Magic concert, which celebrates the life and music of John Williams — the legendary composer who wrote the music for films such as Star Wars, Superman, Indiana Jones, Jaws, ET and Harry Potter.
It is not the first time Mr Jensen has had one of his pieces performed by the NZSO.
The University of Otago bachelor of music (honours) graduate, who majored in composition, had one of his works recorded by the orchestra as part of the NZSO/Todd Corporation Young Composer Awards in 2010.
He recently moved to Auckland and is now running his own company which creates music for video games.
