John was born in Hampshire but spent his early childhood in Kenya and Uganda. In 1999, he moved to Scotland and in 2005, was awarded a place at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh. Whilst there, he won the Isobel Dunlop Prize for Composition, judged by James MacMillan, whilst studying under Tom David Wilson. He furthered his composition studies at the University of York (BA) with Roger Marsh, Bill Brooks and Thomas Simaku, and at the Royal Academy of Music (MA) with Philip Cashian, passing with distinction. He is also a graduate of Darwin College, Cambridge (PGCE and MEd), where he was Choral Director. He is a winner of the Alan Bush Prize and recipient of the NCEM 2015 Young Composers Award (19-25). John’s piece, Morph, for recorder quartet, has recently been selected for the finals of the innaugral Society of Recorder Players Composition Competition 2019, and will be performed by BLOCK4 in Ushaw College, Durham.

He has taught Academic Music and Composition at the Purcell School for Young Musicians and is currently Head of Music Technology at an independent school in South London. He also teaches 1:1 composition and songwriting at JASSPA. His music has been performed by ensembles including CHROMA, the Dunedin Consort, Blossom Street Singers, the Meridian Piano Quartet, and has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, and in concerts internationally.

Various experiments with some more serious music I make.

Notes;
1) Pre August 2021: Nothing is DI or 'simulated amps'. Its all Real guitar amplifiers with Microphones*
Post August 2021: Not always. Due to moving somewhere I can't record, I've gone with a compromise: Ox Box. Still uses my amps, but simulates only the speaker. I will try and use Mics as much as I can by hiring space, but I will make it clear in the description when I've used the Ox Box. *also looking at a Torpedo CaptorX and Boss Tube Expander
2) I hate compression and try to avoid it at all costs.
3) None of the music is quantised in pitch or time - no exceptions.
4) Until I have the space to record live drums, the drums are from Native Instruments Studio Drummer.
5) Nothing is recorded to a click track - always to the drums (see point 4).

*There is one track I used DI; Lament for Elders. It was written and recorded while I was waiting for my amp to be repaired.

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