John McLeod

John McLeod is one of the UK’s busiest and most prolific composers and has been resident in Edinburgh since 1970. He studied composition at the Royal Academy of  Music with Sir Lennox Berkeley winning several prizes for his work. Later he came under the influence of Witold Lutoslawski whom he knew and admired. In 1979 he won the coveted Guinness Prize for British composers and in 1989 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music.
 
His music has been commissioned, performed and recorded in many countries by leading orchestras including the Philharmonia, Hallé, BBC SSO, RSNO, SCO, NYOS and orchestras in Poland, Germany and the USA. International soloists such as Peter Donohoe, Murray McLachlan, Evelyn Glennie, Jane Manning, Benjamin Luxon and Colin Currie have also championed his music. Several important international festivals have featured his works, most notable being Edinburgh, Perth, St Magnus (Orkney) and the BBC Proms. His catalogue of works is large and varied and covers most musical genres - orchestral, concertos, choral, church music, songs, instrumental and chamber music as well as scores for film and TV.   

John has held Lectureships and Fellowships at the RSAMD, the RNCM and the RAM and from 1991 to 1997 he was Head of Composing for Film and Television at the London College of Music (Thames Valley University). From 2001 to 2004 he was also on the Board of Directors of the Performing Right Society and the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters.

Described by The Scotsman as ‘ a major force in contemporary Scottish music’, McLeod is the subject of a new article by Francis Morris in the latest Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

 Recent works include Chinese Whispers for brass (nominated for a 2005 British Composer Award), a Clarinet Concerto, Piano Sonata No.4 and a large-scale orchestral piece Fling for 2 orchestras (commissioned by BBC Radio 3) and recently performed by 180 musicians. A new piano work Haflidi’s Pictures was premiered at the Wigmore Hall in July 2008 by pianist Mark Tanner whose new CD of the work has had international acclaim.