Dr Graham Hearn 
BMus, GTCL, DPhil

Graham Hearn was born in London in 1942 and educated at Battersea Grammar School and Trinity College of Music where he gained a BMus and his teaching qualification (GTCL). He then moved north to take up a teaching post in a Leeds School, leaving after 3 years to take a PhD in composition at the University of  York. He was then appointed  Lecturer in Experimental Music at Harrogate College of FE where he remained until 1979 when he joined the staff at Leeds College of Music, specialising in jazz and contemporary music. Graham retired from his full-time post in 2005 but has remained in a part-time capacity, teaching jazz composition and 20th century history and conducting the New Music Ensemble.

Graham was exposed to all kinds of music from an early age and his tastes remain eclectic. He made his first attempts at playing jazz in a skiffle group at about age 15, teaching himself by listening to records and the radio though he was also having classical tuition. A decisive moment was being given a volume of George Shearing arrangements of standards by a shrewd uncle, which taught him the principles of modern jazz harmony.

Graham’s jazz career didn’t really start until he moved north in 1964, working with local bands and developing his style. He has led his own groups and worked with a number of top soloists over the years, including Art Farmer, Harry Edison, Pete King, Barbara Thompson, Slide Hampton and Herb Geller. He cites as his main influences Thelonious Monk, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett and Miles Davis though in reality he is attentive to anyone with something interesting to say.

In tandem with his jazz playing, Graham has continued to work in the lighter end of show business. He has played extensively for functions and been Musical Director for shows such as Guys and Dolls, Sweet Charity and Salad Days.

In addition, Graham has been active in contemporary classical music, recording and touring with the likes of John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Graham also composes and arranges in a variety of genres and recently completed Incidental Music for a stage version of David Copperfield.