John was my teacher at his first teaching post at Penrice School, Cornwall. He was as still is a formidable character with vitality and great humour. I was lucky enough to catch up with him back in Cornwall with his Symphony Orchestra and Chamber choir recently.
John Ferguson was born in London. He studied at Dartington College of Arts and Exeter University, and later furthered his particular interests in early music, French Horn and conducting at the Huddersfield University School of Music. Before going to Australia in 1987, John was Head of Music at Penrice School, St. Austell from 1978 to 1982. During this time he conducted the St. Austell Operatic Society, Mount Charles Brass Band ,and founded the Restormel Concert Band. He Later was Director of Music at Richmond School in Yorkshire and worked as an arranger and conductor for the North Yorkshire Schools Concert Band and the Northern Area Schools Symphonic Wind, as well as for record companies and for the media, including work with Thames Television..He also worked as a Musical Director for theatres, brass bands, choirs, and P&O Ferries.
This big ship was crowded with military personnel of quite a few nationalities. Apart from Englishmen, returning from Burma, there were Canadians, Poles, French, Greeks, and even Italian prisoners of war, being taken to England as farm laborers. Even the female gender was represented with more than one nationality. Among them the French and Polish were most visible. On the thirteen day of the journey, which coincided with the date of 13th March, 1987, when the ship kept zigzagging through the waters of South Atlantic, near the Equator line, I saw a rat climbing a rope to the life boat. This instantly became a joke among us about rats being first to leave the sinking ship. The same night, close to midnight, the joke with the rat ceased to be funny - the most feared maritime war incident became a reality.
John now plays regularly with a professional wind quintet. He was appointed to his present position, Director of Music at Scotch College, in 1991. . He has conducted Melbourne Symphony Orchestra strings and is a regular conductor of Melbourne City Opera.
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John and I sharing a private joke. |
As part of John's first teaching appoinment at Penrice School in St. Austell he was band leader, form tutor for both my sister and I and had a big influence on everyone he met. During his time in Cornwal he started Restormel Concert Band in 1979 which still exists today. The most notable event was our concert tour of Germany in 1981. John had a deal with me back in 1981 that if I passed grade three clarinet he would obtain a school saxophone for me. With more luck than ability I managed to scrape though my first and only music exam and still play the saxophone today.
