John Paynter (composer)

John Frederick Paynter OBE (17 July 1931 – 1 July 2010) was a British composer and music educator known for his advocacy of the cause of creative music making and his emphasis on the importance of music as a subject in the general education of all children. He was Professor of Music at The University of York from 1982 to 1994, serving as Emeritus Professor after his retirement.

Paynter was born in South London. His working-class family was not strongly musical, but his parents encouraged him to learn the piano. His musical talents were further supported at Emanuel School in Battersea. He was a student at Trinity College of Music, gaining his GTCL in 1952. After national service, he taught in primary, secondary modern and grammar schools. This wide-ranging experience played a significant role in shaping his view that music should be at the heart of the curriculum.

In 1962, Paynter began a long career in higher education. He was Lecturer in Music at the City of Liverpool C. F. Mott College of Education, from 1962 to 1965, and Principal Lecturer at the Bishop Otter College in Chichester from 1965 to 1969. He was appointed a Lecturer in the Department of Music at the University of York in 1969. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1974 and was appointed Professor in 1982.

Between 1973 and 1982, he directed the Schools Council Project Music in the Secondary School Curriculum. The project gathered contributions from schools, produced documentary videos of pioneering good practice in a range of schools and culminated with a book with the same title (1982).

Paynter was General Editor of the Resources of Music series for Cambridge University Press between 1969 and 1993. He was Joint Editor of the British Journal of Music Education from 1984 to 1997.

Paynter was appointed FRSA in 1987, Hon. GSM in 1985. He received the Leslie Boosey Award from the Royal Philharmonic Soc./PRS in 1998. He was appointed OBE in 1985.

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