As a vocalist himself, John focuses primarily in contributing to new vocal and chamber music, but he also writes music and uses sound for non-traditional venues. His primary teachers include Michael Hersch, Altin Volaj, and Patrick Long, the later of whom he studied under while earning a Bachelor's degree in music composition from Susquehanna University. John recently completed his masters degree in composition at the Peabody Conservatory, where he was recipient of the Randolph S. Rothschild Scholarship and the Eugene Scheffres & Richard E. Hartt Scholarship Fund.