Jon's commissioned pieces by Karen North
In 2022, Karen North, who publishes Flute Music publications which are sold globally, commissioned Jon to compose three original pieces for solo flute for her publication "Inspiring Flute Solos".
Jon's three pieces in this publication are:
- Midnight at the Castle (comprising of two short pieces, "Ghosts in the Hall" and "Spiders in the Dungeon")
- Snappy Toes
- Carnival Calypso
NOTE: "Ghosts in the Hall" and "Spiders in the Dungeon" were chosen by the ABRSM (music examining board) to appear in their 2026 Woodwind Syllabus, for Grade 2 and Grade 3 respectively.
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Extract from ABRSM Woodwind syllabus 2026, Grade 2 List C:
Extract from ABRSM Woodwind syllabus 2026, Grade 3 List C:
In 2023, Karen commissioned Jon to compose two original pieces - this time for flute and piano - for her publication "Lyrical Flute Encores".
Jon's two pieces in this publication are:
In 2024, Karen commissioned Jon to compose six original pieces - again for flute and piano - for her publication "Lyrical Flute Miniatures". As the name suggests, this is a collection of short pieces, graded in difficulty for early beginner flute players to late beginners.
Jon's six pieces in this publication are:
In 2025, Karen commissioned Jon to compose one original piece - this time for her publication "Inspirational Flute Duets". This is a collection of flute duets (no piano accompaniment).
Jon's piece in this publication is:
KAREN NORTH M. Mus., B.A. (Hons.), Dip. Ed. (Music).
Karen is a music teacher, mentor and book author. Based in Sydney, Australia, she is passionate about bringing music into the lives of children and adults and has enjoyed working in music education for the past 40 years.
Karen’s teaching has been described as creative and dynamic. She was Director of Music at Sydney Grammar (Edgecliff) School and has also worked in government schools at primary and secondary level.
Karen is fascinated by the process of learning and embraces the idea that children learn better when they are having fun. She uses games in both class and flute teaching as exemplified in her books “Fun & Games for Music Lessons” and "More Fun & Games for Music Lessons 2".
Karen is the author of the acclaimed flute method series “The Young Flute Player”, which has been used successfully by teachers and students for decades and translated into multiple languages, including Portuguese, German, Spanish, Italian and Polish.
She has also arranged many works for flute duets and trios, and flute and piano, including “Festive Flute Fun” and a fine arrangement of "Tarantella" by Laura Netzel.
A passionate advocate for living composers and contemporary repertoire, Karen has commissioned over 100 new works for flute students and performers. These collaborations with internationally recognised composers have resulted in collections including:
- 🔹 Lyrical Flute Legends
- 🔹 Inspiring Flute Solos
- 🔹 Lyrical Flute Encores
- 🔹 Lyrical Flute Miniatures
- 🔹 Inspiring Flute Duets
Through these projects, Karen aims to provide repertoire that is both educationally valuable and artistically inspiring.
NFA Award-Winning Publications
Several of Karen’s pedagogical collections have earned official recognition from the National Flute Association (NFA) Newly Published Music Awards.
From 2022 -2026, Karen's books have featured in the Awards lists for 5 consecutive years.
- 🏆WINNER 2026, Duet/Trio category : Inspiring Flute Duets
- 🏆Finalists: Lyrical Flute Encores, Lyrical Flute Legends, Lyrical Flute Miniatures
- 🏆Honorable Mentions: Festive Flute Fun, Joven Flautista
As well as editing award-winning music books, Karen also is involved in:
- Organising the Lyrical Flute International Championship
- Mentoring young flute teachers
- Running online courses, workshops for flute teachers, and writing a widely read newsletter and blog. Her presentations for teachers have been enthusiastically received both within Australia and internationally.
Watch videos on 
of participants in recent years of the Lyrical Flute International Championship - an annual International flute competition which started in 2021, with esteemed judges including Sir James and Lady Galway, Lorna McGhee, Ulla Miilmann, Viviana Guzmán, Joshua Batty and Gareth McLearnon.