Musical Director of our Choir

John Sutton  MBE

Started his musical career as the youngest double bass player in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. Whilst at school he was a founder member of the group that went on to become the 70’s cult band, Mott the Hoople. He gained a scholarship to the Royal College of Music where he studied singing with Mark Raphael, double bass with Eugene Cruft and conducting with Sir Adrian Boult.

Since leaving the RCM, John’s eclectic love of music has taken him throughout UK and Europe, performing with a huge variety of musicians from Pierre Boulez to the Walker Brothers; and in an enormous number of venues from Ronnie Scott’s to the back of a lorry in a carnival in Alicante, to the Royal Festival Hall and the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall!

He has conducted choirs and orchestras since the early 70’s. During this time he was also proud to be Principal Guest Conductor of the Prague Academy Orchestra for several years. He recently retired from his two choral societies in South West London and now concentrates on free-lance bass-playing and conducting Compton and Shawford Festival Choir.

He takes a leading role in the planning and organising of the three or four concerts they perform each year, and since 1984 his choirs have combined for an annual summer tour in which the venues have included many Cathedrals and Basilicas in France, most memorably Reims, Sacre-Coeur (Paris), Vezelay, Foix, Bourges, Sancerre and Toulouse. This chorale has also performed in venues around Lake Garda in Italy.

Recent comments on his performances have included “truly inspirational” “awesome” “masterful” “great fun” “most moving”—all of which he enjoys enormously!

For over 40 years he has brought pleasure through music to many thousands of people as a performer, conductor and teacher, with the philosophy that music can be a medium through which communities at large can benefit. John has helped to raise many tens of thousands of pounds for worthy causes and promote British music abroad, including compositions by Archer, Britten, Jenkins, Rutter and Tippett.

In the New Year Honours 2023, King Charles III recognised his contribution to choral singing and charity fundraising by awarding him an MBE. He is immensely proud of this recognition, not only for himself, but also the many singers, players and supporters who have supported him over the many years.

He is also the Musical Director of the Voices for Hospices Choir and Sinfonia which, amongst others, perform a major concert biennially on or around World Hospice and Palliative Care Day. The latest was held in Sir Harold Hillier Garden, Romsey on the 2nd September October 2023, when the VfHChoir raised over £26,000 for Hampshire Hospices.

Nowadays when not engaged in music he can be found either on his electric bike, the golf course, or at his second home in France!

John is thrilled and honoured to be conducting the performance of the seven choirs of the HCF Verdi Requiem in the Anvil, Basingstoke on May 11th 2025. This will be his final performance with Compton and Shawford Festival Choir, which he has conducted for the last 23 years.