James Whitbourn was an internationally-renowned composer recognised by The Observer as “a truly original communicator in modern British choral music”. A graduate of Magdalen College, University of Oxford, his career in music began in the BBC, for whom he has worked as composer, conductor, producer and presenter. His compositional output is admired for its direct connection with performers and audiences worldwide and for its ability to “expand the experience of classical music beyond the edges of the traditional map of classical styles” (Tom Manoff, NPR).
His largest composition is the concert-length choral work Annelies, which sets words from The Diary of Anne Frank. Other notable works include Luminosity, written for the Westminster Choir College and the Archedream dance ensemble, Son of God Mass for saxophone, choir and organ and The Seven Heavens for choir and orchestra - a portrayal of the life of C. S. Lewis in the imagery of the medieval planets.
His choral works have been performed in many prestigious venues, and have been presented on acclaimed recordings, including six complete discs of his choral music. Of the latest of these – Annelies (Naxos) – Gramophone writes “the greatest accomplishment here is that James Whitbourn has written some music of great beauty”, Choir and Organ adding, “Whitbourn’s devastatingly beautiful and restrained treatment of the subject matter makes it all the more poignant”.
Whitbourn was commissioned to compose the music to mark several national and international events, including music for the broadcast of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and music for the national commemoration of 9/11 at Westminster Abbey - subsequently performed in New York on the first anniversary of the attacks. His commissions have included a work for the enthronement of the Bishop of Salisbury and for the anniversary of the foundation of the Belfast Philharmonic.
He enjoyed a profile as a conductor and producer, with four GRAMMY nominations to his name (including Best Choral Performance for Annelies, 2014) among many other international awards.
In the latter stages of his career, he returned to the University of Oxford as Fellow and Director of Music at St Edmund Hall, Senior Research Fellow at St Stephen’s House, Director of Music at Harris Manchester College, and a member of the Faculty of Music.
James died at the age of 60 in March 2024. His extraordinary musical legacy lives on.
CONDUCTOR
James Whitbourn conducted choirs and ensembles since he was a teenager. Early in his professional life, he became one of the regular conductors of the BBC's professional choir that broadcasts the Daily Service live to an audience of millions every day. He went on to form his own professional choir The Choir, specializing in music for film and television, with whom he recorded the Gramophone Award-nominated DVD of the music of his British compatriot John Tavener, Choral Ikons. The Choir has since broadcast on numerous programmes for the BBC.
For nine years, he was the Musical Director of the Sevenoaks-based Chantry Choir, for whom he wrote the Son of God Mass and Glory to Thee O Lord. During those years, the choir was known for its adventurous and innovative programming.
He conducted the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra for many broadcasts and recordings, including several of his own scores for film and television. He also conducted the orchestra on several recordings for radio and television. Other orchestras he conducted include the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and numerous session ensembles for media recordings.
Whitbourn was a guest conductor of many choirs and ensembles, including the BBC Singers, the Westminster Williamson Voices, the Kent Youth Choir, Kent Youth Singers, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Chorus, Rochester Cathedral Choir, Liverpool Cathedral Choir and the Bernadi Chamber Orchestra. He directed numerous rehearsals and workshops for ensembles while working with them on his own scores, including the Band of the Blues and Royals, for whom he composed the Christmas Suite.
Whitbourn was co-Director of the Westminster Choir College Choral Institute at Oxford whose home is at St Stephen's House, Oxford.
EDUCATOR
James Whitbourn was committed to education and to the development of the next generation of musicians and the nurturing of musical thought.
He had particular experience in the field of higher education, having been a leader of and participant in many university projects, including workshops, masterclasses and residencies. He was a member of the Faculty of Music at the University of Oxford, a Fellow and Director of Music at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, Director of Music at Harris Machester College, Oxford, and the Senior Research Fellow of St Stephen's House, Oxford. He also had long-standing associations with the University of Cambridge and with Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, USA. He delivered lectures and masterclasses at Princeton University, Northern Illinois University and other institutions of education in the USA, and served as Visiting Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London.
PRODUCER
James Whitbourn was a four times GRAMMY-nominated producer of Classical music with a wide experience of music production for filming and recording projects. He produced recordings for cinema, DVD and CD from many European opera houses including the Royal Opera House London, Teatro Real Madrid, Liceu Barcelona, Chatelet Paris and Glyndebourne, and worked with many of the world's leading artists. He worked for many years as the Executive Producer for the Royal Opera House's cinema, and music and video label, Opus Arte.
He had a close association with the Choir of King's College Cambridge, having produced the BBC broadcasts of Carols from King's for more than thirty years, together with many other recordings and broadcasts from the chapel. He also recorded many of the world’s top choirs, instrumentalists, orchestras and conductors.
He received several awards for his work in television and radio including a Royal Television Society award and a Sony Gold.
TV & RADIO PRESENTER
James Whitbourn presented several hundred programmes for the BBC and for nine years hosted a weekly interview programme on BBC Radio 4, as well as featuring as guest on a range of other shows on both sides of the Atlantic. He was host of many of Glyndebourne Festival Operas interviews and podcasts.
FILM AND TELEVISION PROJECTS
James Whitbourn had a strong background in film and television production and approached commissions for Film and TV with an understanding of a producer's and director's needs.
His first compositions for television came in the last few years of the twentieth century, and he quickly established himself as one of the trusted composers for BBC film makers. But it was the commission to a write a full symphonic score for the landmark BBC and Discovery series Son of God (Discovery title - Jesus: the Complete Story) in 2001 which led him to be noticed by a wider public. Son of God included about 90 minutes of James Whitbourn's original music, all scored for symphony orchestra and performed by the BBC Philharmonic conducted by the composer. The series has since been shown all over the world and continues to be sold to new territories.
Whitbourn went on to score several other programmes for the BBC and in particular was commissioned to write music for important national events. He memorably composed a new work to be used for the BBC's coverage of the Funeral of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 2002. Other events for which he received commissions include the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day, the Cenotaph Remembrance (which continues to be played annually) and the anniversary of 9/11.
He continued to work with producers from the Religion and Ethics department of the BBC, and was commissioned for several other films and documentaries, including a film on Burma, a 12-part series on Churches, a 6-part series on Cathedrals and a 10-part series examining the archaeological evidence of bible events.
He was the composer of the introductory music for the Royal Opera House's cinema screenings and for those presented by the opera house's company Opus Arte.
Discover his work for screen at Wise Music Creative.
Click also on "Screen works" in the Works page for a list of Whitbourn’s works for film and TV.
