Biographical note

James Whitbourn is an internationally-renowned composer recognised by The Observer as 'a truly original communicator in modern British choral music'. After graduating from Magdalen College, Oxford, he started his career in broadcasting, composing many works for the BBC. His compositions are admired for their direct connection with performers and audiences, and include major works such as Annelies, a setting of The Diary of Anne Frank, and a narrative work on the NASA Apollo missions. Among the renowned ensembles who have recorded Whitbourn's music are the choirs of King's College, Cambridge, Magdalen College, Oxford, Clare College, Cambridge, Wells Cathedral, the Princeton-based choir Westminster Williamson Voices, and the Oxford-based Commotio. Whitbourn is Senior Research Fellow at St Stephen's House, Oxford, and a member of the Faculty of Music in the University of Oxford, directing the University's choral summer courses.