James Fletcher

James performs extensively in orchestras both in the Birmingham area and in East Anglia, including recently East Anglia Chamber Orchestra, Cambridge University Music Society and Sampson Orchestra. He played first oboe with Ely Sinfonia during their 2018 season, culminating in a sell-out performance of Holst's 'The Planets' in Ely Cathedral. James subsequently joined Norfolk Symphony Orchestra as their new first oboist after performing with the orchestra as a soloist in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Winds that same year. Whilst studying in Birmingham, James played first baroque oboe for the Conservatoire's double bill production of Blow's 'Venus and Adonis' and Charpentier's 'Actéon' (2015) and first oboe for the Conservatoire's unique triple-bill of Holst’s 'Savitri', Vaughan-Williams' 'Riders to the Sea' and Ravel's 'L'enfant et les sortilèges' in 2016. A professional highlight was playing baroque oboe with La Serenissima for Birmingham Opera Company’s award-winning production of Purcell’s 'Dido and Aeneas' at the disused Carling Academy in 2016. James has held a number of administrational jobs that prove his ability to organise and collaborate. In 2020 James was a visiting lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University and led the delivery of a core module in entrepreneurship across the faculty of music's BA programmes. Prior to joining Anglia Ruskin, James served as music and liturgy administrator (2017 - 18), Ely Cathedral Business Group administrator (2017 - 2019) and interim development officer (2019) at Ely Cathedral. A keen pianist, accompanist and répétiteur, James has collaborated with vocalists at Cambridge University, Anglia Ruskin University and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. James studied for his BMus degree with honours at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, learning with with oboists Melinda Maxwell and George Caird, and for baroque oboe, Gail Hennessy. In 2015 was accepted onto the prestigious EU Erasmus+ scheme to study for a semester at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He will continue his studies as a student on the Master of Music programme at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance from September 2021. James plays a Marigaux 901 oboe.