Formerly, John was Postgraduate Course Leader at Leeds College of Music (LCoM), where he worked from 1975, combining academic duties with the post of Head of External Relations. In later years he was External Relations Consultant for the college. A big band from LCM led by him won the BBC Rehearsal Band Competition in 1983, and he was the founder and organiser of Leeds International Jazz Education Conference, from 1994. As a player and arranger, John made many broadcasts with his own band, ‘John Brown’s Bodies’, on BBC Radio Two and Three, played occasionally with the Hallé Orchestra, and for several years presented jazz programmes on BBC local radio. He has also presented a BBC TV series on music. His arrangement of
The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba was performed by the Fairer Sax in the John Schlesinger film ‘
Madame Sousatzka’. In 2018, John’s collection of comic verse,
Odd Socks, was published by Iron Press. Contact: email at
johnrobertbrown@btconnect.com
