James Savage-Hanford
James enjoys a varied career as a singer, conductor, writer, and musicologist. He read Music at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and studied for a Masters and PhD in Musicology at Royal Holloway, University of London. Prior to doctoral study he also undertook postgraduate training in vocal performance at the Royal Welsh Collegeof Music and Drama.
As an ensemble singer, James has performed throughout the UK and across Europe with groups including the BBC Singers, Academy of Ancient Music, English Concert, Polyphony, and the Hanover Band.
Solo concert highlights include Mozart's Requiem with the Brandenburg Sinfonia at St Martin-in-the-Fields, London; a programme of works by Monteverdi and his contemporaries alongside the English Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble at Lancaster Priory; Bach's St John Passion at Ripon Cathedral; and Haydn's The Creation at Southwell Minster. On the operatic stage, James made his international debut as Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra at the Birgitta Festival, Tallinn.
Increasingly in demand as a conductor, James currently directs the Overgate Hospice Choir in Halifax and Cantores Olicanae in Ilkley, and has worked with numerous youth and adult community choirs in Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire. James was appointed musical director of Vocalis in September 2024.
For more information, visit James’s website www.jamessavagehanford.com.
