John Gibson

Born and bred in Wigan, John attended the Wigan Music Service for several years where, for most of this period, he was Solo Clarinet in the Wigan Youth Concert Band.  He also played 1^st clarinet in the Wigan Youth Chamber Ensemble, 2^nd clarinet in the Wigan Youth Orchestra, and for a while, sang (badly) in the Wigan Youth Choir.

Whilst studying for his BMus Degree at the University of Huddersfield, John twice performed in the World-renowned Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival as part of the elite Twentieth-Century Ensemble, playing Birtwistle’s Verses for Ensembles and singing Britten’s iconic Child of Our Time (in the same concert).

Later, having graduated with a Masters Degree in Performance, John began teaching piano and electronic keyboard in Wigan, and soon afterwards, the clarinet.  He currently has around forty students of all ages and standards, combining four days in Music Schools in Leyland (3) and Wigan (1) with one day of home visits.  Before the Covid-19 pandemic John organized one or two annual charity Music School concerts each year for twelve years; the two most recent of which in 2019 raised £1,100 for St. Catherine’s Hospice in Leyland.

Having joined the Gorton Philharmonic Orchestra as a teenager and spending many years playing 2^nd clarinet, John became Principal Clarinet in 2014.  In May 2015 he appeared as soloist with the orchestra for the first time, performing Weber’s Concertino for Clarinet at Romiley Forum – on his birthday!  John also appeared as soloist with Gorton Philharmonic in July 2018 in an afternoon of film music, performing the Adagio from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A in Gorton Monastery in front of an audience of over 300.

John’s other passions are walking, watching wildlife and nature photography, and he also enjoys driving, having become and Advanced Motorist in 2006.