Biography

John Habron was born in Huddersfield, UK in 1978. He has been commissioned by Lake District Summer Music/BBC Radio 3, Handel House Museum, Choir and Organ Magazine, Juliet Fraser and Alan Thomas, Altissimo and others. His music has been performed at festivals in Brighton, Dartington, Huddersfield, London, Salisbury, York and Edinburgh and he has enjoyed close working relationships with groups such as EXAUDI, Hola, kurbis, The Burney Players, The Belcea Quartet, The Fidelio Quartet, IARA, Wells Cathedral Choir, IXION, New Music Players, Capricorn, Gemini, The Arianna Consort and the Cornelius Cardew Ensemble. For 2007-08, John was Composer-in-Residence for Handel House Museum, London.

From 2004 to 2009 John taught at the University of Southampton and for the years 2007-09 he was an Early Career Teaching Fellow in Music for the university. In autumn 2008 John took up a Visiting Lectureship at Bath Spa University in Composition and Community Music. John has given guest lectures at the Winchester School of Art, Bristol University and Chawton House, Alton. He is Associate Senior Lecturer in Music at Coventry University, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and External Examiner in Composition for the University of Huddersfield (2010-14).

John has also taught at Winchester College (2004-5), where he established the college's 'Music in Context' seminar series, and he has mentored the CoMA South and CoMA Yorkshire Composers' Groups (Contemporary Music Making for Amateurs), directed their affiliated ensembles and from 2004-2007 served on the Board of Directors of CoMA.

In 2003 the South Tyneside Music and Animation Summer School employed John as a workshop leader and from 2003-06 he was co-animateur - with Barry Russell - for the Pennine Spring Music Festival's education project. John is employed on a freelance basis by many key players in music education and outreach, including the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Keen to maintain his performance skills, John freelances as a vocalist-percussionist and is a founding member of Hola. From 2003-2005 he sang for the semi-professional choir Cantores Michaelis and in January 2005 made his debut as a solo vocalist in a full performance of Kurt Schwitters's 'Ursonate'. He performs in several ensembles, including kurbis, and in a duo with harpsichordist Jane Chapman.

Whilst a student at the University of Durham John conducted the University Symphony Orchestra, carried out ethnomusicological fieldwork in the south of Spain and co-founded a department-based contemporary music festival. In 2000 he began studies with Michael Finnissy at the University of Southampton, where he gained a distinction in his MA and completed his PhD.

John is a keen scholar whose interests include music and visual art, and the philosophy of music. He is currently writing a book proposal with Professor Jonathan Cross (Oxford University) for a new collection of essays on the music and thought of Michael Finnissy.

In autumn 2008, in a long-awaited career development, John began training to qualify as a Music Therapist and a teacher of Dalcroze Eurhythmics (the latter being made possible due to a Musicians' Benevolent Fund Professional Development Award and a PRSF/Bliss Trust Composer Bursary).