McLearnon moved to London in 1999 to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where his principal teachers were Samuel Coles and Ian Clarke.

Whilst still a student there McLearnon recorded with the flute-player, Sir James Galway and Harpist Marisa Robles for the charity CD commissioned by John Lubbock Songs for Alexander.

[3] McLearnon is a recipient of the 2003 Ian Fleming Charitable Trust Music Education Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and a Countess of Munster Musical Trust Award, both of which went towards funding his postgraduate study with Samuel Coles (Principal Flute of The Philharmonia Orchestra) and with Michael Cox (Principal Flute of the BBC Symphony Orchestra).

[5] McLearnon has been principal flute of The Heritage Orchestra since 2009 - playing concerts all over the UK and Europe including an arena tour with Tim Minchin in 2011 including at the O2 Arena; Antony & The Johnsons shows in London and Paris; Sparks and Ben Folds performances at the Barbican Centre; BBC Proms performances with Jamie Cullum in 2010 and with Pete Tong in 2015, and several shows with Goldie at the Royal Festival Hall in 2014 and 2015.

Since June 2013, he has given dozens of masterclasses and performances across Russia including Samara, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Tolyatti, Perm, Khabarovsk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Vologda, Tyumen and Moscow, as a flute tutor for Yuri Bashmet’s Gifted Young Russians Academies.