Biography
John Charles (also credited as Jon Charles) was a New Zealand composer, conductor, pianist and orchestrator. Born in Wellington, he studied at Victoria University of Wellington before working in journalism and television production and direction for the New Zealand Broadcasting Service. He later moved to Australia, where he composed for television and served as composer-in-residence at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
Charles composed scores for several New Zealand feature films, notably Goodbye Pork Pie (1980), Utu (1983) and The Quiet Earth (1985), often in collaboration with director Geoff Murphy. His other film credits include A Soldier's Tale (1989) and Spooked (2004). He received nominations at the New Zealand Film and Television Awards.
