On this page, James introduces himself in his own words, and shares links to his music, his website, and his social media platforms. We warmly invite programmers and commissioners to take a closer look at James's work, and please be in touch with us if you would like to connect with him.

About James

'I am a London-based composer and conductor. I played in several youth orchestras in Leicestershire as a teenager and quickly became fixated upon the sound of the orchestra. I soon began composing and have been hooked ever since!

I have recently completed my PhD at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where I investigated ways of manipulating time, temporality, and directionality as a means of creating musical structures. My music embraces an eclectic range of influences, including ‘classics’ of the repertoire as well as more recent approaches. I am particularly interested in Bach, Sibelius, Nielsen, Grisey, amongst many others, and explored new ways of incorporating such influences into my music through my doctoral research. My music aims to combine a kaleidoscopic and pluralistic array of different musical styles and compositional approaches, forming unlikely unions between all of them by way of structural logic and narrative.

I am committed to supporting the next generations of young composers, and currently teach composition at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.'

Highlights

• James currently holds composition teaching positions at the Royal College of Music Junior Department and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
• In 2022, he completed his PhD in Composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
• James was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra to write ‘Thymiaterion’, premiered in 2020 and conducted by Elim Chan.
• In 2017, James took part in the London Symphony Orchestra Panufnik Composers Scheme.

Find out more

If you are interested in finding out more about James, hearing and and keeping up to date with his work, take a look at his website and social media below:

• Website
• Twitter
• Soundcloud

We are dearly grateful to RPS Members and a range of donors for supporting the RPS Composers programme, including the Delius Trust, The Fidelio Charitable Trust, Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation, Idlewild Trust, John Ellerman Foundation, Presteigne Festival, PRS Foundation Talent Development Network supported by PPL, the Radcliffe Trust, the RPS Susan Bradshaw Composers' Fund, the Vaughan Williams Foundation, and several anonymous donors.