John’s background is in music. He is a former Young Highland Singer of the Year winner and was formally trained in Classical singing at Edinburgh Napier University. He spent much of his 20s travelling around the UK performing concerts. John completed a further degree at London School of Theology and whilst he was studying there John served as the contemporary music co-ordinator and worship leader at Methodist Central Hall Westminster in the heart of London. His job there was to lead a very large, traditional congregation into a more contemporary style of worship. Little did he know that this job would prepare him for a similar task of helping congregations in the Highlands follow the same track.

John’s style is mature, rich, folky and Biblical. On the one hand, his songs – like any good pop music – have a compelling hook which gets caught in your head and ends up being sung in the shower. But, equally, there is depth in the lyrics and sound. A track like ‘Heaven’s Eyes’ from his Eternity album is a powerful reply to the nettlesome question of how a good God can allow suffering in the world. Another track ‘City of God’, condenses the beautiful images of the new Jerusalem at the end of Revelation into a praise anthem. For lyrics, John might be compared to a young Michael Card or, for a different generation, Caedom’s Call. As for sound, his music can range from the pop trends of Christ Tomlin and Matt Redman to the more folky melodies of Indelible Grace and Stuart Townsend.

One of the most exciting things John is currently doing is writing new music for the Psalms. Over the last couple of years he has studied in depth the role of the Psalms in the worship of God’s people, how they have been used in the past, and how different groups and churches are singing them today. One of his ambitions is to enable the church in the Highlands to recover Psalm singing using the Celtic sound that is so popular in church and secular music. Along with writing contemporary music for the Psalms, John is also interested in finding more interactive ways of singing them, fulfilling the apostle Paul’s pastoral advice to sing hymns, Psalms, and spirituals songs, not just to God, but also to one another (see Eph. 5:19).

Keep a look out in coming months for John on tour. Given his heart to see the rural church in the Highlands revived, John is currently planning some concerts in the Highlands in 2016. He is also recording a new album of the Psalms. In particular, watch out for his versions of Psalm 8, 110, and 23. His version of Psalm 8 is a straightforward version of the Psalm with a tune as catchy as Come Thou Fount. As for Psalm 110, John has written a majestic tune for it, which alongside a chorus and bridge, celebrates the glory of Christ as the ascended king. (Last Easter John was able to perform this song to a crowd of over 800 Christians gathered for a joint service in Inverness.) Finally, John’s version of Psalm 23 attests that Jesus is the heart of the Psalms and demonstrates that the Psalms are as relevant, interesting, and powerful as any other music being produced by Christian artists today.

(Biography by Rev Joe Barnard).