Growing up in a musical family, John started piano at the age of six, and composition at nine, and at twelve had his first orchestral work performed by the Bundaberg Youth Orchestra. Since then John has had his works performed and commissioned by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Southern Cross Soloists, Australian Youth Orchestra, Queensland Youth Orchestras, Flinders String Quartet, UQ Symphony Orchestra, Southern Cross Voices, among others, and has garnered such awards as the 2013 Queensland Wagner Society National Composition Prize, the 2014 Fanfare Artology Prize, 2015 Percy Briar Memorial Prize, and the 2016 Jean Bogan Youth Prize.

Since 2013, John has worked as an arranger with the Southern Cross Soloists on a number of projects including their QPAC subscription concerts and Bangalow Music Festival concerts, as well as their ballet collaborations with Expressions Dance Company. John is currently undertaking his doctorate studies in composition at the University of Queensland.