Hughie Gavin is an Emmy-nominated composer, arranger, producer and musical director based in Margate. His work has included global campaigns for WWF and Audi, commissions for the 2019 Turner Prize as well as multiple choral collaborations including HBO’s True Detective: Night Country, BBC’s Silent Witness, and with Universal Records, Ninja Tune, City Slang, Sub Pop and Moshi Moshi Records. From the Institute Studios in Margate, he leads both a contemporary vocal ensemble, the Institute Collective, and The Social Singing Choir.

In 2023, Hughie reinterpreted Billie Eilish and Finneas’s When The Party’s Over for the WWF campaign Up In Smoke, a film that urgently addresses the global climate change crisis driven by fossil fuel emissions. The campaign won two Golden Arrows at The British Arrows Awards and Hughie received a nomination for Best Re-Record or Adaptation in Online, Social and Digital Advertising at the 2024 Music+Sound awards. Hughie was also the musical director on the 2019 Christmas advertising campaign for very.com

Hughie collaborated with composer Vince Pope on the music for HBO’s True Detective: Night Country, creating an ethereal and atmospheric score that perfectly captured the show’s haunting Alaskan setting. Their collaboration on the song No Use was nominated for an Emmy.

Born into a musical family, Hughie’s father is the internationally acclaimed opera singer Julian Gavin. He first studied music with his grandmother, composer Val Gavin and was later classically trained as a choral scholar at the London Oratory School. As a songwriter he has worked extensively throughout Europe with international artists. Beyond his work as a composer, Hughie’s distinctive voice has made him a sought-after featured vocalist. His version of I Could Have Danced All Night was used in the 2020 global Audi advertising campaign.

He has also worked as a Musical Director and vocal coach for major touring shows, TV shows and advertising campaigns. Hughie received classical vocal training from his father and renowned vocal coach Janice Chapman. He describes his teaching method as ‘a natural approach’, building on the fundamentals of his classical training with the experience he’s gained within the music industry. In addition to his composition and vocal work, Hughie performs under the moniker JAKL. In 2016, he was named one of Glastonbury’s Emerging Artists, earning national radio support from BBC Radio 1, XFM, BBC Introducing, and BBC Radio 6 Music. He also supported Wildwood Kin on their September 2022 tour.

In 2023, Hughie released his first EP Seaward Part 1, inspired by the east Kent shoreline and performed by the Institute Collective. His latest EP, First Flurry, released in November 2024, features new arrangements of classic Christmas songs, along with two original tracks celebrating the colder months.