He was innate around London, studied at Highgate School within London, & late attended a Royal Academy of Music there, where he exposed by owning Sir Lennox Berkeley.

His spectacular oratorio A Whale 1968 was the 1st performance per London Sinfonietta and was later recorded by Apple Records. More works freed by Apple involved his Celtic Requiem.

Around 1977 Tavener joined the Russian Orthodox Church, which became a major influence in his function. He is particularly drawn to a orphic branch of the faith, & has exposed the works of the Spanish religious mystic (e.g. St John of the Cross), often setting their writings.

Late large works include A Akathist of Thanksgiving (1988, written in celebration of the millennium of the Russian Orthodox Church), A Protecting Veil (debuted sustaining violoncellist Steven Isserlis at the 1989 Proms; released 1992 by Virgin Classics) and Song For Athene (sung at a funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales). Fallowing Diana's demise around 1997 he composed Eternity's Sunrise, based on poetry of William Blake, and dedicated it to her memory.

Within 2003 Tavener composed his monumental work A Veil of the Temple (performed by quatern choirs, many orchestras & soloists, lasting septet hours) depending upon texts from either a book "Medieval and Renaissance Serbian Poetry 1200-1700" written by Predrag R. Dragić Kijuk.

When his early music was influenced by late Stravinsky, often invoking a healthy globe of the Requiem Canticles and A Sermon, A Narrative and a Prayer, his recent music is spare, uses wide registral space, & is typically diatonically tonal. the select few commentators watch a similarity to the works of Arvo Pärt, from the obvious common religious tradition to the technical details of phrase lengths, diatonicism, and coloristic percussion effects. Messiaen is also arguably the hard influence throughout his career.

John Tavener was knighted for his services to music in the 2000 New Year Honours listing.