Our Musical Director John K Miles sat down with SoundStorm Music Education Agency for an in-depth 'Meet a Composer' interview — from a piano rescued from a skip to a career spanning jazz, film scoring, and community music.
Our Musical Director, John K Miles, was the subject of an in-depth "Meet a Composer" feature by SoundStorm Music Education Agency, where John has been a long-term creative partner.
In it, John traces his journey from classical training on the flute at the Guildhall and years on the London jazz circuit, to scoring for film and television and leading community composition projects in schools, hospices and prisons — a journey that began with a piano rescued from a skip outside his childhood home.
Asked when he first fell in love with music, John puts it simply: "Music chose me, not the other way round!"
He also shares his philosophy on music education: that everyone involved in a project should feel a sense of collective ownership — and that the confidence, teamwork and creativity that music builds are skills for life, whether or not you go on to become a professional musician.
You can read the full interview on the SoundStorm website, and explore more of John's work at johnkmiles.co.uk.
Here at YMM, John leads the Groove Orchestra and Innovate 2, and teaches composition, music theory and creative workshops every Saturday.