John Brunning is an English radio presenter, musician and composer.[1]
Brunning was born in Essex and from 1970 broadcast pirate radio from his home in Colchester. He learned guitar and played for a time with the successful band Mungo Jerry. In 1986 he began broadcasting on local radio.[2] He is the only Classic FM presenter to have worked on the station continuously since it began broadcasting in 1992. In the course of this association, he has presented the Drive and Chart programmes, as well as Smooth Classics.[3] On Classic FM[4] He presented Classic FM Drive for the final time on 14th April 2023[5] and is continuing to present various programmes for the station.[6]
Brunning's 2006 composition, Pie Jesu, was first recorded by the vocal group All Angels, and has since been recorded by several other artistes including the King's Singers (2010). The Pie Jesu is one of seven movements that together form the oratorio Amazing Day and another piece from this work, his setting of "Ave Maria", was recorded by the Welsh soprano Katherine Jenkins (2011). He has also composed several pieces for guitar, and Sahara and Romance No.1 (2010) have been recorded by both Xuefei Yang and Craig Ogden. Ogden gave the first performance of 'Concerto Magna Carta' for guitar and small orchestra in 2015, and has since recorded the slow movement from it.[7]
He is married with two children.