James is one of the UK’s most distinguished and respected choral directors, in demand for his work as conductor, choir trainer, arranger and adjudicator.
He is Musical Director for Chantage, winners of the Malta International Choral Competition Grand Prix 2015 and BBC Radio 3 Choir of the Year 2006, the Chandos Chamber Choir, Ipswich School Chapel Choir, the Royal College of Music Junior Department Friends Choral Society, Amici Cantate, Halstead Choral and 4Tunes, the award-winning staff choir at Channel 4 TV in association with Music in Offices. James is also Chorus Master for the Saffron Opera Group, preparing Wagner’s epic opera scores for concert productions, including; Tristan and Isolde, Parsifal, Tannhäuser and, in 2024, Die Meistersinger von Nürenberg.
Formerly the chief choral advisor for the BBC’s sheet music archives, James has delivered projects for the BBC Singers’ Education Department, as well as regularly conducting and preparing choirs for broadcasts on television and radio. He is also Director of ChoirFixer Limited, fixing professional ensembles for recording sessions and events for films, TV advertising and the entertainment industry.
James is also a conducting tutor for the Association of British Choral Directors and leads choirs on courses for the Chester Choral Week (formerly Cranleigh Choral Week), the Dart Festival Chorus and the Sherborne Summer School of Music. In 2018 he co-founded the London International Choral Conducting Competition (LICCC), the first of its kind in the UK, based at the Royal Academy of Music and soon to run again in November 2024.