Sherborne
Summer School of Music
2024
Choral Masterpieces of Five Centuries : Biographies
James Davey is one of the UK’s most distinguished and respected choral directors, in demand for his work as a conductor, choir trainer, choral education practitioner, arranger and adjudicator.
James is in demand across the UK and, at the heart of his busy schedule he is Musical Director of Chantage, winners of the Malta International Choral Competition Grand Prix 2015 and BBC Radio 3 Choir of the year 2006, the Chandos Chamber Choir, Amici Cantate, Halstead Choral and 4Tunes, the award-winning staff choir at Channel 4 TV in association with Music in Offices.
Formerly the chief choral advisor for the BBC’s sheet music archive, 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 the Association of Irish Choirs and is on the ABCD’s Council of Practitioners. In 2018 he co-founded the London International Choral Conducting Competition (LICCC), the first of its kind in the UK.
More recently he has been appointed Chorus Master of Saffron Opera Group, preparing Wagner’s epic opera scores for concert productions, including Tristan and Isolde, Parsifal and Tannhäuser.
Simon Gregory studied music at Christ Church, Oxford under Simon Preston and Francis Grier and organ with Richard Popplewell, Nicholas Danby and Anne Marsden-Thomas. He retired from Emanuel School, Wandsworth in 2020 having completed periods as Head of Lower School and as Director of Music.
He has been an accompanist for the Association of British Choral Directors choral conducting courses in addition to various Sherborne choral and conducting courses. Simon has also acted as tutor and accompanist on Benslow Music Trust courses.
As well as giving organ recitals throughout the UK, he has accompanied various choirs in concerts and at services in many English cathedrals. He is also a past council member and present trustee of ABCD and has held posts as Musical Director with several choral societies.