Should you require a biography, please request one from Jim using the e-mail button in the bottom-right of your screen;
please do not alter or abbreviate this material without Jim's consent.
please do not alter or abbreviate this material without Jim's consent.
© Matt James
|
Jim Clements was born in 1983 in the tiny village of Lower Stoke, which sits in North Kent, between the rivers Thames and Medway.
In 1991, he became a chorister in Rochester Cathedral, and it was during the following five years in the choir that he became interested in composition; his first choral piece, Solomon's Prayer (1 Kings 8: xxiii), was sung by the boys of the choir at evensong on 23rd May, 1995. At the age of thirteen, Jim was awarded both choral and music scholarships to Tonbridge School, where he continued to sing in the chapel choir. His first composition for full symphony orchestra, Leda and the Swan (inspired by W.B. Yeats' eponymous poem), was performed in concert in 2001. He went on to study music at Manchester University, where he received his first formal instruction in compositional technique and began arranging barbershop and close-harmony music. He also found a berth in the university's chamber choir, sang occasionally in Manchester Cathedral choir, and founded two close-harmony groups, thus satisfying his appetite for all things choral. It was here that he wrote his first song cycle, 'Concerning the Inevitable', for fellow undergraduate, Marcus Farnsworth. |
Shortly before graduating with a first-class degree in 2005, Jim was approached by a fledgling vocal ensemble, VOCES8, with a view to writing a few bespoke arrangements; two years and several commissions later, VOCES8 appointed Jim its Arranger in Residence.
Following his graduation, Jim decided to pursue his interest in singing and writing music. He has since enjoyed a busy career as a consort singer and oratorio soloist, performing with many of the world’s finest vocal ensembles, including the BBC Singers, Ex Cathedra, Opera Rara, and the choirs of St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. He was a member of the GRAMMY-nominated vocal ensemble Stile Antico for seven years, with which he performed extensively around the globe, including engagements at the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, and Amsterdam Concertgebouw. He has sung on numerous radio and television broadcasts and made over thirty commercial recordings.
Jim has established himself as an accomplished composer and arranger whose music has been performed in venues from the Royal Albert Hall to the Sydney Opera House. In addition to his ongoing relationship with VOCES8 – who have performed more than a hundred of his arrangements in over a thousand concerts around the globe – he has written for artists including The King’s Singers, Paul Simon, Bryn Terfel, Tim Minchin, Tom Jones, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Jim’s music is published by Edition Peters, Faber Music, and Hal Leonard, and recorded on Decca Classics, Signum Classics, and Universal Records.
Following his graduation, Jim decided to pursue his interest in singing and writing music. He has since enjoyed a busy career as a consort singer and oratorio soloist, performing with many of the world’s finest vocal ensembles, including the BBC Singers, Ex Cathedra, Opera Rara, and the choirs of St. Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey. He was a member of the GRAMMY-nominated vocal ensemble Stile Antico for seven years, with which he performed extensively around the globe, including engagements at the BBC Proms, Wigmore Hall, and Amsterdam Concertgebouw. He has sung on numerous radio and television broadcasts and made over thirty commercial recordings.
Jim has established himself as an accomplished composer and arranger whose music has been performed in venues from the Royal Albert Hall to the Sydney Opera House. In addition to his ongoing relationship with VOCES8 – who have performed more than a hundred of his arrangements in over a thousand concerts around the globe – he has written for artists including The King’s Singers, Paul Simon, Bryn Terfel, Tim Minchin, Tom Jones, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra.
Jim’s music is published by Edition Peters, Faber Music, and Hal Leonard, and recorded on Decca Classics, Signum Classics, and Universal Records.