Born to a choirmaster, Karl Jenkins played oboe in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales and studied at the Royal Academy of Music before serving in jazz-rock experimentalists Nucleus and Soft Machine during the ’70s and ’80s. That rich musical heritage is reflected in the questing eclecticism of his classical compositions. His work in TV advertising, for clients including Levi’s and British Airways, first brought his gift for indelible melodies and sparkling orchestration to huge audiences—and they’ve followed him ever since. A 1994 commission for Delta Airlines inspired the Adiemus series of albums that put the Welshman on the classical map, and by imaginatively blending genres, cultures and eras in his spiritually infused music, he has subsequently become one of the most-performed composers alive today.