JOHN GREGORY KNOWLES
Curriculum vitae
Education
1974 -1976 Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester, UK)
GRSM – Music performance majoring in percussion
1980 – 81 Tuition in percussion in USA
Tutors:
New York – Dave Samuels, Dave Freidman (Spyragyra)
Los Angeles – Emil Richards, Vic Feldman (Steelydan),
Bill Kraft (L.A. Philharmonic)
Professional experience
1977 – 1985 Solo percussionist – Fires of London, contemporary chamber music ensemble: composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies (Master of the Queen’s Music). Toured extensively including South America, Australia, USA and Europe. Further information @ www.maxopus.com .
Other composers: Elliot Carter, Hans Werner Henze, Wittold Lutislavsky. Mark Anthony Turnage, Oliver Knussen,
Michael Niman, Mauricio Kagel, James MacMillan, John Taverner and Harrison Birtwhistle
1986 – 1991 BBC Symphony Orchestra working with David Atherton and Pierre Boulez. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Ashkenazy, London Sinfonietta and The Nash Ensemble recently recorded Bartok First Rhapsody for violin with Shlomo Minz and London Philharmonic Orchestra. English National Opera (Mark Elder) and Royal Opera House Covent Garden (Edward Downs).
1991 – 1992 Principal percussion Munich Symphony Orchestra and 2001 Principal timpani Orquest de Cadequez in Madrid with Sir Neville Marriner. Ensemble Intercontemporain, Paris, Klaus Huber.
1992 Principal timpani with Trevor Pinnock and Roger Norrington
playing Baroque music recordings and US tour.
1993 Appearance at Montreux Jazz Festival with B&W artists
Teaching experience
1993 –1995 RNCM visiting tutor and external examiner. Birmingham School of Music as Head of Department. Co-ordinator of Trinity Music School board exams and external examiner.
1996 – 2005 Presenter and percussionist of children’s TV series How Do You Do? and various other educational TV programmes for BBC TV. Watch series for BBC education.
Recording work
Publishing contracts with E&S publishing ( Simon Cowell ), Eaton Music and recording contract with Chrysalis Records.
Partner in Amsterdam based record label ‘Koko’ producing dance music.
1995 – 2007 Many different movie sound tracks TV shows, West End shows and recording artists. Harry Potter John Williams. Band of Brothers Michael Kamen More recently Spygame, Lord of the Rings trilogy, Evelyn Glennie, Nigel Kennedy and Borat.
Recodings with Evelyn Glennie – Rhythm Song, Wind in the Bamboo, Light in Darkness and Greatest Hits Classic Kennedy with Nigel Kennedy. Close working relationship with Howard Shore and Alexandre Desplat most recently on Eastern Promises and The Golden Compass respectively.
Compositions
Main work has been in Production Music having produced CDs for KPM/EMI, Music House and Boosey and Hawkes . Most recent credit on NBC TV series ‘Monk’. Orchestrator on Beautician and the Beast, Paramount Pictures. TV documentaries for ITV and ITN, including Noriega, Rhodes and Princess Di Alone.
Non musical
2001-2004
Awarded PG dip counselling from TVU Ealing
2006
Wexford Opera Festival in Ireland playing principal percussion
Present
Playing cimbalom on Dickensian with Debbie Wiseman. Cimbalom on forthcoming film release ‘Pete’s Dragon’. Successful run of The Winter’s Tale at Royal Opera House June 2016 playing Hackbrett and Dulcimer.