Jonathan Mead was born in South Wales in 1962, and his early musical experiences were at the Morriston Citadel Salvation Army.

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Jonathan entered Cardiff University in 1980 and studied Piano, Trumpet and Composition. There he discovered the music of Welsh composer Alun Hoddinott, who was the professor at this time. This opened his mind up to a whole new world of music composition.

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After university, Jonathan trained as a teacher, gaining his P.G.C.E., and he spent over thirty years in the education system, and after gaining his N.P.Q.H., more than eleven of those years were spent as a headteacher.

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In 2017, he took the plunge and finished as a headteacher to work as a professional musician. He now makes his living as a pianist, composer and arranger. He accompanies a variety of soloists, choirs, eisteddfods, and also accompanies British Army musicians in their exams.

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Jonathan writes, and has commissions, for a variety of ensembles, including choirs, string quartets, brass and wind ensembles and orchestra.

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In 2024, he was commissioned to write a new SATB song for the 150th Anniversary of The Salvation Army in Wales. This was sung by 150+ singers (including the International Staff Songsters) at the International Convention Centre Wales in July 2024. The song, called ‘Dyma Gariad’, was published by the Salvation Army in January 2025.

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Jonathan has more than fifty pieces published by a variety of music publishing companies.

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One of Jonathan’s biggest commissions to date was in 2022, from Pontardulais Town Brass Band. Funding for this was made available through Tŷ Cerdd – Music Centre Wales, to write a large-scale work for brass band, male voice choir, soprano (vocal) soloist, percussion, piano and organ called ‘Footsteps’.

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In 2026, Jonathan was commissioned to write a piece for Ynyshir Brass Band to celebrate the eightieth year of the reforming of the band after World War Two. This again was funded by a grant from Tŷ Cerdd. The world premiere performance of this new piece, called ‘Echoes of The Valley’, will be in October 2026.