Jon Hargreaves

First Light (2022)

Closeup of African-Canadian hip-hop artist Keonte Beals. He stands in a rural setting, with snow swirling. He wears a brown puffy vest over a black jumper, with a black beanie, and has a clippered beard and moustache. He looks slightly towards the left frame of the photo.

Let Go (2021) *

Conductor Jon Hargreaves, composer Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian, singer Ziazan Horrocks-Hopayian and five players from the London Symphony Orchestra record in a large church. The scene is informal and busy, and there are cables and microphones throughout the scene.

Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian album (2021)

Photographic portrait of British composer Frank Denyer. He is a white man with a white beard and wavy grey hair. He sits in an armchair with his arms folded, in front of a large bookcase, looking pit to the left of the photo frame. The image is in grayscale.

Broken Music (2021) *

Album cover art ofr Ainsley Hamill's album "Not Just Ship Land". A coloured pen drawing of a woman resting her head on her forearm on the lower frame. Her multi-coloured hair comes out in swirls and fills the rest of the image.

Not Just Ship Land (2021)

Photo of conductor Jon Hargreaves and spatially distanced musicians from Octandre Ensemble recording a piece of music in a timber-clad modern concert hall. The photo is taken from the perspective of one of the musicians, playing from a balcony above the stage, and their music fills the bottom half of the frame.

Sub (2021)

Burial at sea - a painting by JMW Turner. A fire aboard a dark ship sees the beginning of its demise.

The Shipwrecker’s Lantern (2021)

Abstract, scribbled pen drawing of musicians and instruments.

Nevis Ensemble: Pandemic activity (2020-21)

Closeup of assorted wooden, metal and glass percussion instruments sitting on a tray in a dimly-lit performance space.

The Fish that became the Sun, World premiere (2019)

A photo of the Nevis Ensemble musicians, with their back to the camera, playing with Jon Hargreaves conducting (facing the camera), on the Island of Hirta in the St Kilda archipelago. They are outdoors, with an inlet from the Atlantic ocean, and a rugged peninsula behind them. They are dressed in brightly coloured clothing.

Nevis Ensemble: Outer Hebrides Tour (2019)

Caucasian man in striped shirt and black jeans, with smooth black hair, wearing safety goggles. He is chopping wood behind a plexiglass safety screen, on stage as part of a musical performance.

Frank Denyer Composer Portrait (May 2018)

Nicola LeFanu Composer Portrait

Eight musicians stand in a semicircle, infront of a battery of interesting percussion instruments. in front of them is composer Rolf Hind, in a white shirt and terracotta-coloured trousers. The backdrop is a bright blue, and the stage is brightly lit. They look directly at the camera.

Rolf Hind Composer Portrait (2018)

An image of the Octandre Ensemble recording on a modern, timber-lined concert platform. There are 3 groups of 4 players playing a large assortment of instruments in a large semi-circle around the stage, plus Jon Hargreaves conducting in the middle. The mood is informal, but busy.

The Fish that Became the Sun Recording (April 2018)

A closeup photo of Jon Hargreaves conducting the Nevis Ensemble in a dark space, lit by fairy lights.His arms are raised, and he wears a black shirt. in the foreground is the back of a violinist, with her hair pulled up into a chignon.

Nevis Ensemble: Inaugural Summer tour (2018)

A symmetrical photo of 7 musicians from the London Symphony Orchestra in a semicircle around a brightly lit stage, with Jon hargreaves conducting at the centre (with his back to the camera). The photo is taken from the middle of the audience. The musicians are dressed in black clothing, and the mood is formal and professional.

LSO Soundhub Showcase (2017)

Image of the Octandre Ensemble in concert, in St John's Smith Square, London. the stage has a domed ceiling, draped red velvet panels either side of the performers, and a large chandelier above the stage.

Principal Sound: Layers of Love (April 2016)

Taxi Driver (2016)

photo of Jon Hargreaves conducting into a camera, with live projections of different groups of musicians on three screens around him. Taken during the Online Orchestra research project at Falmouth University.

Online Orchestra (2014-15)

Photographed, from the back of the audience, a man conducts a small ensemble in low lighting

Curiouser (2015)

Closeup scan of a diagram, featuring geometric shapes, musical letter names, intersection lines and map coordinates.

Sinan Savaskan Composer Portrait (2014)

Cover art for Andy Ruddy's album "Everything is in Order". A print of part of the London skyline in silhouette against a dark green background.

Everything is in Order (2014)

Camera still from the David Lean film "Brief Encounter". A black and white photo of a man and woman, both white and middle-aged, looking into each other's eyes, backlit by street lamps/

Brief Encounter (2014)

Cover art for Sam Forrest's album "Population 4000". A pen and coloured pencil drawing of a teenage boy of Asian descent in a red teeshirt, wearing a white hygiene mask, holding a green banner with writing on it. Behind him is a city scene with skyscrapers, cars and traffic lights.

Population 4000 (2013)

Medieval Modernist (November 2012)

Anglo-French Composers Forum (Nov 2012)

Music as Spheres (March 2011)

Cover art for Chris Helme's album "The Rookery". A coloured pen drawing of black and white wooden houses set up in the branches of an autumnal tree.

The Rookery (2011)

Cover art for Hayley Hutchinson's album "Hawks to the Wind": A drawing of a boy wearing artificial wings on sand dunes, with the sun sinking over the horizon.

Hawks to the Wind (2011)

Cover art for The Yards' album "Imperial Measures". A pen drawing of a black horse rearing up on its hind legs, with billows of white smoke and burning books around its feet.

Imperial Measures - The Yards (2009)

Album cover art for The Yards' Album "The Yards". A black, red and pink image of a cabaret dancer holding a red love heart, with two vintage boxer silhouettes either side of her, and a skull with crossed pistols at the top. the look like tattoo art.

The Yards (2005)

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Jon is at the vanguard of a new generation of artists specialising in contemporary repertoire, and revitalising the relationship of ensembles and audiences, with a professional portfolio that includes Music Directorships in London and Scotland, guest conducting contracts around the UK, and song-writing and arranging projects with leading indie artists in Canada and the UK.

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Composing/Arranging

2021 and 2022 will see the release of five albums with Jon credited as either conductor, song-writer or arranger, and live performance of his arrangements by Keonte Beals/SNS and Ainsley Hammil/Scottish Freelancers Orchestra.

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Octandre Ensemble

As Co-Artistic Director and Co-Founder of London’s Octandre Ensemble, he has been at the helm of nine critically-lauded seasons. A highlight of 2019/20 was the World Premiere of Frank Denyer's singular epic 'The Fish that became the Sun' at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, as well as its release on Another Timbre records. This followed a year of landmark composer portrait curations at the Coronet Theatre, in 2018/19.

The Ensemble has earned a strong reputation for its performances of new music exploring timbre and ritual, with BBC Radio 3 broadcasts, and numerous premieres under Jon’s directorship, notably including Sinan Savaskan's BASCA Award-winning Many Stares… (Module 30), and the UK Premieres of Christian Mason’s Layers of Love and of Claude Vivier’s Samarkand.

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Nevis Ensemble

In Scotland, Jon co-directs the award-winning Nevis Ensemble, a chamber orchestra working from the foundational belief in "music for everyone, everywhere”. The 40-piece orchestra plays to the very young, the very old, and those who face challenges in their lives, in settings as diverse as the summit of Ben Nevis, the Glasgow Night Shelter, psychiatric and dementia care settings, community gardens, children’s playgrounds and swimming pools. Now approaching its 4th year, the orchestra has played over 200 performances to nearly 28,500 people.

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