Role
John is the Head of the Music and Events Department and a member of the Senior Management Team at Nottingham Trent University.
In this role, John leads the strategic direction and operational coordination of the department, working collaboratively with colleagues to ensure the continued success, quality, and innovation of our undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses in music, events, and related disciplines.
John’s primary focus is on curriculum design and academic leadership—developing forward-thinking, industry-informed programmes that equip students with the creative, technical, and professional skills needed to succeed in the fast-evolving music and events sectors. He champions inclusive and engaging approaches to teaching and learning that reflect both contemporary practice and academic rigour.
In addition to his departmental leadership, John works closely with colleagues across NTU to enhance the student experience, grow external partnerships, and support knowledge exchange activities that connect academic work with the wider cultural and creative industries.
With a background in academic leadership and course development, John has previously overseen significant programme redesigns and validations aligned with sector needs. He is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and is committed to inclusive, student-centred education that supports diverse pathways into the creative industries.
Career overview
Since the mid-90s John has been a freelance studio and live sound engineer and producer owning +/or working in recording studios and live venues.
From the late 90s John began writing music for media, and then rode the wave of the move of technology empowering home based recording facilities to exist. John began lecturing in the late 90s whilst progressing his industry practice before moving into head of department roles and to this day maintains a freelance career in production, mixing and composing for media. Other avenues have involved being in touring bands and running a cassette only record label.
External activity
John writes production music for media outputs such as television and radio: he has over 600 copyrights in circulation from songs to instrumentals with work used on the BBC, Netflix, ITV, Channel 4 and channels across the globe.
John owns a production music publishing company called Arms Production Music that represents copyrights from over 100 composers, releasing material regularly to territories all over the world via sub publishing deals.
He also mixes artist and bands’ material for commercial release from his recording studio at home.
John is an External Examiner for other music production related courses.
External website:
www.armyourears.com : Professional Activities
armsproductionmusic.com : Production Music publishing company
Press expertise
Vocational degrees in the creative sector: mainly music and music technology based.