He is a trombonist, conductor, arranger and composer born in Edmonton who first picked up the trombone when he was ten years old and studied with the trombonist and composer Malcolm Forsyth.
He went on to perform with several orchestras in his early career that include the Canadian Chamber Ensemble, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the National Ballet of Canada and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
In 1980 he became the Principal Trombone with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. During his time with the orchestra he has also been the Composer-in-Residence and has had eight of his compositions performed by the ESO. They have also performed more than 50 of his arrangements. As a conductor he made his ESO debut in 2020 where he led an ensemble who performed his Concerto for 2 Horns.
Working as a composer elsewhere he has been commissioned by several societies and orchestras that include the Debut String Quartet, Edmonton Recital Society, I Musici de Montreal and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and his work has been performed by other orchestras and ensembles that include the Chamber Orchestra of Edmonton, the Beau String Quartet, Hammerhead Consort, NOWage Orchestra, XIA String Quartet and Polyphonie String Quartet.
Recordings he has performed on and/or composed for include Albertasaurus by Albertasaurus Tuba Quartet, The Malcolm Forsyth Trombone Ensemble by The Malcolm Forsyth Trombone Ensemble, Lift by Andrea Menard, Large as Life and Bold as Brass by the Old Strathcona Town Band, Leap of Faith by Bev Ross and Return of the Whirlwind by the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers.
In the field of musical education he is an arranger and co-founder of the Edmonton Symphony Wily Away Team (ESWAT) where he has led more than 200 tactical missions and put together over 60 medleys. He is part of the ESO’s Young Composer Project, Parkinson Project, YONA and the Adopt-a-Player program. He has worked on several outreach projects and was a designer of the students’ educational outreach program for students in Fort McMurray, Alberta. He has also been on the faculty of the University of Alberta’s Department of Music as a low brass instructor.
His wife is the violinist Dianne New who is Principal Second Violin of the ESO.
Sources:
- https://www.winspearcentre.com/more/about/about-eso/meet-the-musicians/brass/john-mcpherson/
- https://collections.cmccanada.org/final/Portal/Composer-Showcase.aspx?component=AAIL&record=91b09cf3-04a9-42f8-a7b0-276e62cbb2fd
- https://edmontonjournal.com/entertainment/eso-premieres-new-work-by-composer-in-residence-john-mcpherson
- https://www.islandtrombone.com/cantrbn.html
- https://www.discogs.com/artist/2188645-John-McPherson-2