Karl Jenkins, described on his website as "the world's most performed living composer", has been awarded a Knight Bachelor in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
The impressively mustachioed Welsh-born musician, now living in Marylebone, has had an eclectic career.
He started out in jazz, playing at renowned London club Ronnie Scott's and winning first prize at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival.
He went on to join the influential '70s jazz-rock fusion band Soft Machine as keyboardist and later composer, playing venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to Reading Festival, and has also written award-winning scores for adverts and films.
But it is his classical compositions for which he is best known, particularly The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace, which has been performed more than 1,800 times in 20 countries.
The 71-year-old has garnered a dazzling array of 17 gold and platinum discs for his recordings, and he was this year confirmed as the most popular living composer in Classic FM's Ultimate Hall of Fame.
He is the first Welsh-born composer to be knighted, according to his publisher Boosey and Hawkes, having been awarded the honour for services to composing and crossing musical genres.
"I am delighted by this great honour and the recognition of my music, and am grateful and humbled that my works have been able to reach out to so many performers and listeners around the globe," he said.
