James Oxley
James Oxley was elected President of Malvern Festival Chorus in 2016.He studied as a cellist at the Royal College of Music and later gained a scholarship to Oxford where he read music. First prizewinner at the renowned International Vocalisten Concours at ’s-Hertogenbosch in 1994, he has since appeared at many of the major venues in Europe, especially in France where he has worked with Philippe Herreweghe, Hervé Niquet, Christophe Rousset and as part of John Eliot Gardiner’s landmark Bach Cantata Pilgrimage with the Monteverdi Choir in the UK and Europe, also recorded for the Soli Deo Gloria label.
Further afield, he has performed in Australasia, the Far East and returned recently from the USA where he performed in Baltimore and Annapolis. On the opera stage, he has worked for ENO, Glyndebourne, Garsington, Opéra de Rennes, Opéra Comique, Paris and Oper Dortmund’s production of Gluck’s Orfeo.
As a stage actor, he played numerous parts in London Factory’s acclaimed productions of Shakespeare and an improvised version of “The Odyssey” for which he wrote the music.
This season, in addition to composing and arranging for traditional/crossover band ‘Ensemble Galilei’ in the USA, James will be working with the Royal Shakespeare Company, writing music and acting as Voice Coach for their upcoming ‘Othello’.
A resident of South Herefordshire, James recently completed a 20-year project to convert a cattle barn into a house which he shares with his wife, American oboist Kathryn Montoya.
