Jeffery has a national and growing international reputation as a composer, performer and educator, equally at home in classical, contemporary and jazz music. He studied composition at the Royal College of Music with John Lambert and Herbert Howells and later with Aladar Majorossy, Gordon Jacob and in Paris with Olivier Messiaen.
An apprenticeship in music for dance and the theatre resulted in 34 dance scores to date and for the stage a few musicals and incidental music. To date he has about 200 works in the repertoire with over a third of them published. He has been composer in residence in many European cities and with some notable orchestras including the London Festival Orchestra, London Mozart Players and the Northern Sinfonia. Jeffery performs in recital with pianists Tim Watts and Henk Alkema, with the contemporary quartet 'Saxology' and his own band ‘The Reduced History of Jazz’ although he continues to perform with numerous jazz and new music ensembles.

Jeffery was a visiting lecturer in composition, saxophone and improvisation at the Utrecht Conservatorium from 1986 until 2002 and was for a number of years a supervisor on the music faculty at Cambridge University teaching history, analysis and jazz, he maintains a relationship with the University as a teacher and for special projects. He currently divides his teaching commitments between Junior Guildhall where he is coordinator and a professor of composition, Colchester Institute where he is tutor of Clarinet and Saxophone and the Royal Military School of Music where he offers Jazz and improvisation workshops. Jeffery sustains a thriving private teaching practice numbering among his students some prominent professionals, and University and Conservatoire students.
Adjudication has taken him all over the UK and much of Europe and he is much in demand in this area of music making. A role as examiner and Saxophone and Jazz advisor for Trinity Guildhall Exams completes the picture here.

Current and recent composing projects include a Clarinet Concerto for HM Band The Welsh Guards and soloist Kim Easter (supported by Rico Reeds for whom Jeffery is an endorsee), a Clarinet Quartet for ‘Exchanging Blows’ called ‘Circus Acts’, a new Trumpet and piano piece called ‘King Tut’s Trumpet’ for Paul Archibald, examination material for Trinity Guildhall and a set of Saxophone improvisation and world music vehicles called ‘Le Monde’.
This year also sees the revival of a number of his works –‘Young Person’s Guide to the Jazz Orchestra’, ‘Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra’, and the opera ‘The Way to Glory’.
Jeffery is pleased to announce that he won the Recital Music Prize 2010 in both categories for his two songs ‘Music to Hear’ and ‘Peace’.
Jeffery values the support of his publishers - Camden Music, Brasswind Publications, Saxtet, Reedimensions, Spartan Press, Queens Temple and Trinity Guildhall.

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