John F. Kennedy | Pope John Paul II | Elton John | John | John Lennon | John Wayne | John McCain | John Kerry | John Cage | Olivia Newton-John | John Williams | John Peel | John Adams | John Steinbeck | John Travolta | John Milton | John Zorn | John Marshall | John Howard | John Singer Sargent | John Ruskin | John Updike | John Maynard Keynes | John Coltrane | John Cleese | St. John's | John Waters | John Lee Hooker | John Huston | John Ford |
He studied composition with José Alberto Kaplan and Mário Ficarelli, in Brazil, and later with Brian Cherney, Alcides Lanza and John Rea, at McGill University, in Montreal, Canada, where he received two of his graduate degrees (Master of Music and Doctor of Music in Composition).
His paternal grandfather General John Rea was in the United States Congress from Bedford and Franklin, Pennsylvania, during the terms of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.