Paul Hart composer / arranger

Paul Hart is a music composer. He spent his early life in Ilford, Essex. He studied Piano, Violin and composition at the Royal College of Music, first as a junior exhibitor and later full-time. Having developed an early interest in jazz music he left college and started working as a bass player, piano accompanist and jazz violinist to Cleo Laine and John Dankworth, an association that took him around the globe many times. During this phase of his career he was also much in demand as a session musician.

Later he formed 'Joe & Co', with Joe Campbell, a company specialising in composing and producing music for advertising, film and television. The company came to be regarded as one of the foremost music production companies in the world. The list of awards won by Campbell and Hart is testimony to this fact.

He is a prolific composer having written extensively for jazz orchestra (including a guitar concerto for John Williams), wind band (pieces such as ‘Cartoon’ and ‘Circus Ring’), orchestra, and smaller ensembles. His orchestral works include two concertos (one written for Evelyn Glennie), an anthem (dedicated to Nelson Mandela), and a set of variations on the British national anthem. Paul has had three performances of his works at the BBC Proms including the jazz composition ‘Out Of Hamelin’ performed by the National Youth Jazz Orchestra. His books of compositions and arrangements for flute & saxophone in the ‘All Jazzed Up’ series are best sellers; the Associated Board (ABRSM) have used them as examination pieces. Other commissions include pieces for London Brass, the British Clarinet Ensemble and The Kings Singers.

Together with the orchestral conductor David Arnold, he has composed a host of music identity packages for radio stations including ‘Classic FM’, ‘Jazz FM’ and the ‘BBC World Service’.

Recently his composition ‘All Thus Stand Light’ had its first performance, this was commissioned for the classical guitarist Fabricio Matos, as part of his Ivor Mariants Guitar Award from The Worshipful Company of Musicians. Also the guitarists John Williams and John Etheridge have performed another new composition by Hart as part of the ‘Music at Oxford’ series in the Sheldon Theatre.