Jack Body remembers well the very first time he performed one of his own compositions. "I must have been about 10 or 11, and my music teacher was having a concert for his piano students. At the end of the concert he announced a special event, and I came on with my compositions written on a huge piece of cardboard and played these pieces that lasted about 10 seconds each."

Now more than 50 years later, Jack Body is one of New Zealand's most well known composers. His music has been performed by The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, The New Zealand String Quartet and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.

Jack learned the piano and organ for many years, but was always fascinated by the idea that you could make your own music. "I did a music degree and a Masters, and was always trying to make my own music. I had some inspiring teachers who were supportive of my endeavours. My lecturers remarked that maybe I was destined to become a composer. I was inspired by new music.

Throughout his career, Jack has written music for a variety of performers as well as for film and television. "Often when you are writing music for people it is for a special occasion, so you need to be able to relate to them or to the occasion and give them a concept they are happy with."

A love of travelling and other cultures is often a source of inspiration for Jack's work. "I've been to some amazing places and I'm fascinated by other musical cultures and traditions, particularly those of Indonesia. A lot of my music is a kind of translation of other music, I make recordings of music or write down what I hear, so I can study it more carefully and then turn it into another form.

"Sometimes the greatest satisfaction for a composer may be from something quite small that wasn't really noticed by anybody else. But it is also rewarding when a piece is finished and it gets what you could consider a close to ideal performance and you think, 'Oh did I do that, sounds pretty good doesn't it'?"