John Harle
Sospiro’s Founder and Director
John is the founder of Sospiro, and creator of the Sospiro System. Alongside his performance career, he has been a teacher and mentor to a new generation of performers in the arts and in business. In 1984 he became the youngest professor ever appointed at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London.
John's musical career got off to a perfect start when he became the first person in history to graduate from the Royal College of Music in London with a degree mark of 100%. The second student to achieve this was John's classmate, violinist Nigel Kennedy. Since then he has become the foremost saxophonist of his generation and is the most recorded performer of his instrument in the world.
His prolific career as performer, composer, producer, professor and creative consultant has taken him from the studio to the podium of the London Symphony Orchestra, and to collaborating with musical luminaries including Sir Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Michael Nyman, Leonard Bernstein, John Tavener, and Herbie Hancock. John’s body of work stretches across genres from opera to pop, garnering both critical acclaim and commercial success.
He has produced more than 25 jazz and classical albums - his Grammy nominated album ‘Terror and Magnificence’ features vocals by Elvis Costello. He has composed more than 30 concert works and written over 100 film and television scores, including his Royal Television Society award-winning theme to the BBC1 series, ‘Silent Witness’.
He was a 'Castaway' on ‘Desert Island Discs’ with Sue Lawley in 2003 and is a regular contributor to Radio 3 and Radio 4 on 'In Tune' and 'Front Row'.
He was an actor/musician in the National Theatre Company between 1980 and 1985, and notably performed as part of the Orestia Company with Peter Hall in the Olivier Theatre, London and at Epidavros, Greece.
His one-man shows as writer, actor, singer and saxophonist have been performed at the National Theatre, New End Theatre, Hampstead, The Kings Head Theatre, Islington, and The Arts Theatre, Covent Garden.
He has been a presenter on BBC Radio 3 and 4 and LBC.
As Curator of ‘Sustain!’ - part of the City of London Festival from 2009, he is bringing music and Sospiro into more and more business environments.
