John Albert Exton (28 March 1933 – 13 September 2009) was a British composer of classical music. John Exton was born in

Wolverton Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and G ...

, and started to play the violin at the age of 11. In 1950 he became leader of the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. He started to read music at the

King's College King's College or The King's College refers to two higher education institutions in the United Kingdom: *King's College, Cambridge, a constituent of the University of Cambridge *King's College London, a constituent of the University of London It ca ...

in Cambridge. In 1956 he won the

Mendelssohn Scholarship The Mendelssohn Scholarship (german: Mendelssohn-Stipendium) refers to two scholarships awarded in Germany and in the United Kingdom. Both commemorate the composer Felix Mendelssohn, and are awarded to promising young musicians to enable them to c ...

and studied with

Luigi Dallapiccola Luigi Dallapiccola (February 3, 1904 – February 19, 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions. Biography Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current Pazin, Cr ...

in Florence for a year. After that he continued his studies in Cambridge with

Robin Orr Robert Kemsley (Robin) Orr (2 June 1909 – 9 April 2006) was a Scottish organist and composer. Life Born in Brechin, and educated at Loretto School, he studied the organ at the Royal College of Music in London under Walter Galpin Alcock, and p ...

and

Matyas Seiber Matyas may refer to: * Mátyás, Hungarian name * Matyáš Matyáš is a Czech masculine given name, cognate to Matthew. Notable people with the name include: * Matyáš Bělohradský (born 2001), Czech figure skater * Matyáš Démar (born 199 ...

. He became Doctor in Music in 1963 and in the same year the director of music at

Bedales School Bedales School is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventi ...

. In 1966 John Exton followed an appointment as a senior lecturer at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

in Perth. He taught composition there until his retirement. Notable students of John Exton include

Carl Vine Carl Edward Vine, (born 8 October 1954) is an Australian composer of contemporary classical music. From 1975 he has worked as a freelance pianist and composer with a variety of theatre and dance companies, and ensembles. Vine's catalogue inclu ...

, Jennifer Fowler,

Ross Bolleter Ross Bolleter (born 1946, Subiaco, Western Australia) is a composer and musician whose work is focused on ruined pianos. His recordings are available on Emanem (London), Pogus (New York), New Albion (San Francisco) and Tall Poppies ( Sydney), as ...

interview with Ross Bolleter, see: http://musicguy247.typepad.com/my-blog/ross-bolleter-ruined-pianos/ or

Stephen Benfall Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

. He died in Perth, aged 76.

Compositions

* 3 pieces, for oboe (1955, rev. 1961) * Dialogues, for 2 violins (1957) * Partita for string quartet (1957) * 3 simple pieces, for piano (1961) * 6 caprices, for violin (1961) * String trio (1961) * Variations for piano (1961) * Concertante for piano and five instruments (1961) * Fantasy for violin and piano (1961) * String quartet No.2 (1961) * Movements for orchestra (1964) * The story of Christ's nativity according to St. Luke, for narrators, singers and instruments (1965) * 2 Psalms and a Homily, for choir and organ (1966) * Wind quintet (1967) * String quartet No.3 (1969) * Breathing space, electro-acoustic work (1972) * String quartet No.4 with electronics (1972) * String quartet No.5 (1972) * Ryoanji, for 40 strings and percussion (1973) * String quartet No.6 (1974) * Give or take a few db, for piano (1975) * String quartet No.7 (1975) * Cantio obliqua, for violin (1993) * 3 pieces for organ "Contrapuncti“ * In memoriam Joseph Haydn, for baritone and string quartet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Exton, John 1933 births 2009 deaths Australian classical composers Australian male classical composers Australian music educators British classical composers British expatriates in Australia British male classical composers British music educators 20th-century British male musicians