John has been enchanted by the charismatic sound of the guitar since he first heard it at the age of 12 years. He has studied the instrument to a high level; gained Diplomas for performance; studied in Master Class with Julian Bream and John Williams ( which, he says, gave him “life enhancing opportunities and experiences” ); performed the solo, concerto and ensemble repertoire in Great Britain, Europe and America; taught a wide range of students, several of whom have gone on to Conservatoire and careers in music; written a major didactic work, “The Elusive Aesthetic” and worked as a Mentor for Classical Guitar on the ABRSM Professional Development programme.
John has always been fascinated by the whole instrumental teaching process. Particularly how technical skills can be presented in such a way that they impact on the player’s ability to interpret musical text in the pursuit of musical outcomes. Within this context, however, he still has concerns that the guitar:
- continues to be regarded largely as a solo instrument.
- is under-valued as an ensemble instrument.
- is still not really understood by other musicians and composers.
- has a limited qualitative ensemble repertoire, when compared to other instruments
John believes that this tends to influence attitudes and encourage the Classical Guitar to remain largely on the periphery of the mainstream musical world. John cites other reasons for this situation:
- the many differing personas of the guitar, eg. folk, rock, blues, jazz.
- introspection, where many players and ‘afficionados’ tend not to listen to music beyond the guitar repertoire.
- a tendency for poor sight – reading amongst many guitarists, which restricts their capacity to engage with a wider range of music, especially ensemble playing.
- technical deficiencies amongst many players, that can often lead to a dynamic imbalance when accompanying singers or other instruments., and which ultimately restricts ensemble activity.
- insufficient encouragement for amateur players to perform with other instruments.
Throughout his career, John has found the guitar to be a perfect accompanying instrument for voice, or instruments such as Flute, Violin, Recorder and Cello. His extensive experience as an ensemble performer, allied to the concerns expressed above have all contributed to his decision to establish the website and make available his catalogue of music.