Jeremy Hayes

Jeremy (left) with Pianist Peter Donohoe

This is an informal biography and Jeremy is making final touches to the “proper one” !

Jeremy grew up in Blackheath, then moved to the Tonbridge area in Kent aged 11.  Jeremy is an only child – his father was an Army major and up until Jeremy came along his parents lived in Germany. As a child, he was football mad and not interested in music at all – he jokes that he came to it quite late at the age of 13.  He learned to play the piano and couldn’t get enough – wanting to learn more and more pieces!  He studied music at Newcastle University and then went onto Birmingham University where he embarked on a Phd on the composer Gluck – he spent two years in Paris working at L’Opera on his thesis and then returned to Birmingham to complete his PHD.  He never completed it though, as when he was writing up his thesis he was offered the job of a lifetime working as a music Producer at BBC Radio 3.  He remained at Pebble Mill for 17 years and absolutely loved the job working with many of the worlds most esteemed classical musicians over the years.  Being based in Birmingham meant that Jeremy enjoyed many collaborations with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Simon Rattle, he also worked with musicians such as the late Sir Michael Tippett, the Lindsay String Quartet, Alfred Brendel and Mitsuko Ushida.  Coincidentally, he was responsible for the BBC broadcasts from the Aldeburgh Festival for 12 years, so got to know this area of Suffolk quite well and always looked forward to the annual stay for the fortnight of the Festival. Jeremy was promoted to Senior Producer and toward the end of his time there was Head of the Radio 3 Department in the Midlands.

The rest is in the present at Potton Hall.