I have been the lucky recipient of a world class education in music. As a young horn player growing up in Christchurch, I had countless opportunities through the Christchurch School of Music before winning a music scholarship to attend St Andrews College. 

Upon finishing my Bachelor of Music at the New Zealand School of Music in Wellington, I moved to Melbourne after successfully auditioning for the Australian National Academy of Music. 

During my six years in Melbourne, I studied with and performed alongside some of the greatest musicians alive today, including LA Philharmonic Principal Horn Andrew Bain, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Principal Horn Nico Fleury, and University of Melbourne Head of Horn Carla Blackwood. I was in active competition with my exceptionally talented fellow students, and is where I truly flourished into the performer and educator I am today.

Immediately after finishing my studies at ANAM, I auditioned for and won a contract with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Melbourne is a frantically vibrant place, and I would regularly find myself dashing from a rehearsal with the MSO to an opera or ballet performance with Orchestra Victoria, Melbourne’s professional pit orchestra. This was an objectively unsustainable period, but is an experience that I treasure regardless.

Since then I have held contracts as Principal Horn with Orchestra Victoria, as Associate-Principal with the West Australian and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras, and have guested with every major Symphony across Australia and New Zealand.

In 2017, alongside my wife Arna Morton and pianist Liam Wooding, I founded Morton Trio. As an ensemble we were the winners of the Pettman/Royal Overseas League Chamber Music Competition which enabled us to tour to the UK for performances and masterclasses. Since then, we have performed across the length of New Zealand twice with Chamber Music New Zealand, and in 2024 recorded our self-titled studio album.

Since moving back to Christchurch in 2020, I have found myself in ever growing demand as  a conductor.

I am currently the Music Director of 50s Up Brass Band and the Middleton Grange School Orchestras, and have seen tremendous success in the development of these wonderful ensembles.

At a time where community ensembles everywhere are struggling to attract new members, 50’s Up Brass has seen massive growth in membership and the band is undoubtedly sounding the best it has been for a long time.

I actively and intentionally foster an environment of confidence and encouragement within the band to achieve what we have managed to achieve. I find it incredibly gratifying to see so clearly the benefits of my philosophy of prioritising joy and ease in order to achieve success. 

As an Artist in Residence at The Piano Christchurch, I adore teaching, and have seen great success with my instrumental students aged 7 to 70! Regardless of age or ability, my goal is always to equip my students with the skills, knowledge, and understanding to develop their own technique, musicality, and confidence. 

There is a lingering tradition within music education, an old school mentality, that one must suffer in order to achieve. That if we are enjoying ourselves then we mustn't be trying hard enough. In my opinion, this is an entirely counter-productive attitude, and that any evidence towards the efficacy of its success is despite this approach, not because of it.

I have experienced and witnessed first hand the benefit of taking a balanced and sustainable approach to achieving success, whereby prioritising finding the joy and the ease in working towards a goal helps us to achieve while enjoying the process at the same time. This is a cornerstone philosophy of everything I do.

As a performance coach I have worked with clients in music, medicine, and construction, helping them to develop a mindset that will enable them to perform at their best under pressure. 

I have had clients win professional orchestral jobs in New Zealand and as far away as Europe, and have helped clients place in prestigious universities across the globe.

In 2020, I developed the HIIP (High Intensity Interval Practice) Method; an online course designed to help students ensure effective and efficient practice all while establishing desirable habits. In 2021, The HIIP Method was picked up and taught in classrooms at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, Melbourne’s leading performing arts school.