James made his international opera debut as Ferrando Così fan tutte in 2016 with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra at the Birgitta Festival, Tallinn. Other operatic engagements include Don Ottavio Don Giovanni, Bardolfo Falstaff (Black Cat Opera), Remendado Carmen (Opera Up Close), The Teapot and The Little Old Man L'Enfant et les Sortilèges (Bute Park Opera), and Pluto in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld (Opera'r Ddraig). Between 2011 and 2015 he sang the role of Tenor Soloist / Stage Director in the Armonico Consort's highly successful touring production of Too Hot To Handel (Buxton Festival, Malvern Theatres, Theatre Royal Windsor). He created the role of Back-to-Front Policeman in Laura Bowler's The Sandman (Tête-à-Tête Opera Festival), and has sung Chorus for productions with Grange Park Opera, Opera Holland Park, and Bury Court Opera, among others. James was introduced to opera at a young age, and as a treble sang the role of the Shepherd Boy Tosca alongside Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu for two seasons at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He subsequently recorded the role for EMI (under Antonio Pappano) and also appears in the DVD film version of the opera, directed by Benoît Jacquot.
Equally passionate about performing as a concert soloist, James has sung works including Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle, Haydn The Seasons, Charpentier Te Deum, Schumann Requiem, and Handel Messiah. Oratorio highlights include a performance of Mozart's Requiem with the Brandenburg Sinfonia at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, and Haydn's The Creation at Southwell Minster, with the Lincoln Chamber Orchestra.
Away from solo performance, James is an accomplished and highly experienced choral singer. He has worked with ensembles including the Academy of Ancient Music (Barbican Hall, London; NOSPR, Katowice), Sonoro chamber choir (St Magnus Festival, Kirkwall; St Gallen Festival, Switzerland), and Musica Saeculorum (Philharmonie Essen). He sings frequently with some of London's finest church & cathedral choirs, and is currently a regular member of the professional octet at St. Etheldreda's, Ely Place.
Although his performing interests are focused primarily on singing, James has also gained experience as a conductor and musical director. He conducted Vaughan Williams' Riders to the Sea (in his own re-orchestrated piano trio version) and Lennox Berkeley's A Dinner Engagement in a double bill performance for Bute Park Opera in 2014; he is a former musical director of the Coleridge Choir (one of several local choirs comprising Cambridgeshire Choral Society); and has assisted on projects for the Early Music ensemble Sforza, including as the chorus master for a concert performance of Handel's Semele (St Martin's Church, Cardiff). James has also participated in masterclasses (as both a singer and conductor) with Danish conductor Peter Hanke and the Voces Academy.
James read Music at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Royal Holloway, University of London, and is a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where he studied with Adrian Thompson and coaches Cameron Burns and Angela Livingstone. His studies at the RWCMD were generously supported by the McAlpine Educational Endowments, Split Infinitive Trust, and the Angus Allnatt Foundation. He continues to learn privately with David Barrell.
Alongside his various performing engagements, James is also active as a musicologist, and is in the early stages of an academic career. He recently completed his PhD on the later chamber music of George Enescu, and has presented his research at conferences throughout the UK, as well as in Italy and Romania. In 2017 he gave a lecture recital on the music of Karol Szymanowski at Ognisko Polskie (the Polish Hearth Club), in South Kensington. James has been a visiting tutor for a number of undergraduate courses at Royal Holloway, including in Theory and Analysis, Historical Musicology, and Practical Musicianship. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is also a published translator of several articles and books (from Polish to English), with clients including the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and Warsaw-based publishers Rosikon Press. Details of his academic profile and research output can be found here.
Promoters please do not reproduce this biography without permission.
Equally passionate about performing as a concert soloist, James has sung works including Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle, Haydn The Seasons, Charpentier Te Deum, Schumann Requiem, and Handel Messiah. Oratorio highlights include a performance of Mozart's Requiem with the Brandenburg Sinfonia at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, and Haydn's The Creation at Southwell Minster, with the Lincoln Chamber Orchestra.
Away from solo performance, James is an accomplished and highly experienced choral singer. He has worked with ensembles including the Academy of Ancient Music (Barbican Hall, London; NOSPR, Katowice), Sonoro chamber choir (St Magnus Festival, Kirkwall; St Gallen Festival, Switzerland), and Musica Saeculorum (Philharmonie Essen). He sings frequently with some of London's finest church & cathedral choirs, and is currently a regular member of the professional octet at St. Etheldreda's, Ely Place.
Although his performing interests are focused primarily on singing, James has also gained experience as a conductor and musical director. He conducted Vaughan Williams' Riders to the Sea (in his own re-orchestrated piano trio version) and Lennox Berkeley's A Dinner Engagement in a double bill performance for Bute Park Opera in 2014; he is a former musical director of the Coleridge Choir (one of several local choirs comprising Cambridgeshire Choral Society); and has assisted on projects for the Early Music ensemble Sforza, including as the chorus master for a concert performance of Handel's Semele (St Martin's Church, Cardiff). James has also participated in masterclasses (as both a singer and conductor) with Danish conductor Peter Hanke and the Voces Academy.
James read Music at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and Royal Holloway, University of London, and is a graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where he studied with Adrian Thompson and coaches Cameron Burns and Angela Livingstone. His studies at the RWCMD were generously supported by the McAlpine Educational Endowments, Split Infinitive Trust, and the Angus Allnatt Foundation. He continues to learn privately with David Barrell.
Alongside his various performing engagements, James is also active as a musicologist, and is in the early stages of an academic career. He recently completed his PhD on the later chamber music of George Enescu, and has presented his research at conferences throughout the UK, as well as in Italy and Romania. In 2017 he gave a lecture recital on the music of Karol Szymanowski at Ognisko Polskie (the Polish Hearth Club), in South Kensington. James has been a visiting tutor for a number of undergraduate courses at Royal Holloway, including in Theory and Analysis, Historical Musicology, and Practical Musicianship. He is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He is also a published translator of several articles and books (from Polish to English), with clients including the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and Warsaw-based publishers Rosikon Press. Details of his academic profile and research output can be found here.
Promoters please do not reproduce this biography without permission.
| JSH CV 2019 |