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He is a tenor born in Banbury, England, who became a
chorister at his local church when he was eight years old.
He was a chorister at King’s College, Oxford,
and studied at Winchester College and as a choral scholar at King’s
College, Cambridge but his chosen career was that of a doctor of
medicine. He entered this
profession initially and stayed in it while singing part-time successfully
for several years.
He then made the decision to choose a life as a
professional singer on a full-time basis when he was thirty.
Going from strength his career has seen him performing
as an ensemble member and soloist in recitals, operas and choral concerts all
over the world and covering works by composers such as J.S. Bach, Hector
Berlioz, Benjamin Britten, William Byrd, Gilbert & Sullivan, George
Frederic Handel, Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Henry
Purcell, Ralph Vaughan Williams and many more.
Some of the many orchestras and ensembles he has
performed and recorded with through the course of his career to date
include the Academy of Ancient Music, the Bach Collegium Japan, the BBC
Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, the English Chamber Orchestra,
the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the King’s Consort, the Monteverdi
Choir, the Northern Sinfonia, Oxford Camerata, the Philharmonia Orchestra,
the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Symphony Orchestra, the
Sixteen, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Tallis Scholars.
His recordings are many and include his own Oh Fair
to See (sings by Gerald Finzi) and Ralph Vaughan Williams - On
Wenlock Edge as well as John Taverner: Total Eclipse; Agrophon with
the Academy of Ancient Music, Bach: Ascencion Cantatas with the
Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir, A Marriage of England and
Burgundy with the Binchois Consort, Vivaldi: Gloria with the
Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, Romantic Residues with
Alison Nicholls, Byrd: Mass for Four Voices by Oxford Camerata,
The Far Country: 26 English Songs by John Jeffreys with Anna Tilbrook
and Britten: Albert Herring.
Working in collaborations, he has been heard with the
harpist Alison Nicholls and the pianist Anna Tilbrook and is currently
working as a much sought after recitalist and soloist.
Sources:
- http://www.jamesgilchrist.co.uk/fullbiography.html
- http://www.jamesgilchrist.co.uk/smallbiography.html
- http://www.musicweb-international.com/SandH/2007/Jul-Dec07/gilchrist.htm
- http://www.answers.com/topic/james-gilchrist
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Gilchrist_(tenor)
- http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Gilchrist-James.htm
- http://www.classicalarchives.com/artist/7628.html#tv=about
- http://www.oclassical.com/artist/1948
- http://www.linnrecords.com/artist-james-gilchrist.aspx
- http://music.barnesandnoble.com/Artist/James-Gilchrist/c/25758
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=JAMES|GILCHRIST&sql=41:25870~T3
- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Byrd-Mass-Four-Voices-Infelix/dp/B0000013U8
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