Jon Hargreaves

RSNO Film Composer Lab

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 (2022)

Singer Alan Leach, a white man with short hair, dressed in a black tracksuit with stripes, and wearing sneakers with the laces undone. He is crouched on his heels, hugging his knees leaning against an urban brick wall under lamplight.

Clouds behind the Moon (2022)

BBC Proms: The Summer has Flown (Sept 2022)

5 Views of the Path (WP, LCMF 2022)

Sleep Now (2022)

Each One Cancels The Last (Hector) (Jan 2022)

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

The Shipwrecker’s Lantern (2020-22)

Cover art for Martha Bean and Jon Hargreaves' album "First Light". A painting of a bed with rumpled sheets against a plain wall. The image is saturated with peachy morning sunlight.

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)

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)

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.

Welcome Party (2021)

International Communication Disaster 1877' version: May 2020 (2022)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Nicola LeFanu Composer Portrait (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)

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 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)

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)

Anglo-French Composers Forum (Nov 2012)

Medieval Modernist (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 (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)

Jon works on music projects as an arranger, conductor and composer/songwriter. With a professional portfolio that includes Music Directorships throughout the UK, guest conducting engagements around the UK, and songwriting and arranging projects with leading indie artists in Canada and the UK, he specialises in contemporary repertoire, revitalising the relationship between music and audiences. He was founding Co-Artistic Director of Glasgow's Nevis Ensemble until 2022.

Recent releases crediting Jon as conductor, songwriter or arranger include Cevanne Horrocks-Hopayian’s album Welcome Party, with members of London Symphony Orchestra, Jack Sheen's debut album Sub, with Octandre, and Martha Bean's First Light EP. Live performance projects include his work as an arranger for award-winning RnB artist Keonté Beals with Symphony Nova Scotia (Canada), Katherine Priddy and the BBC Concert Orchestra (BBC Proms), and as MD for trad Scots artist Ainsley Hamill with the Scottish Freelancers Orchestra. Jon is working on an album of original material with longstanding collaborator, John Miller.

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Composer/Arranger, Songwriter

Jon’s high-end, bespoke arrangements have brought artists acclaim in Q Magazine, BBC Radio 2, Rock and Reel Magazine, and elsewhere. He has arranged, conducted and directed strings and other orchestral backing for projects in styles encompassing rock and RnB, through to acoustic singer-songwriters and traditional music. Besides orchestral work in Canada and Scotland, during the pandemic he directed remote sessions for projects with Martha Bean, Aaron Xavier and Clementine Duo.

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Octandre Ensemble

As Co-Artistic Director of London’s Octandre Ensemble, Jon has been at the helm of ten 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 HCMF, as well as its release on Another Timbre records. During the pandemic, the work won the RPS Prize for large-scale Composition. 2022 launched with the group’s second collaboration with composer Jack Sheen following the recording of his performance installation Sub in 2021, a performance at London Contemporary Music Festival and the culmination of a major recording project, Frank Denyer's Broken Music, due for release later this year.

The Ensemble has earned a strong reputation for its performances of new music exploring timbre and ritual, with BBC Radio 3 broadcasts, CD releases, 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 Claude Vivier’s Samarkand.