James Bramley
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As a soloist and accompanist, in ensembles and as a continuo player, I perform throughout the UK and abroad on the lute, theorbo and guitar. I enjoy working with many internationally renowned artists and ensembles including the Academy of Ancient Music, Voces8, Dame Emma Kirkby and Dowland Works, Rachel Podger, the Netherlands Bach Society, English Touring Opera, The Marian Consort and Spiritato. I have given concerts and recitals for Live from London, The Lute Society, the London Handel Festival, Brecon Baroque Festival, Brighton Early Music Festival, and Dartington International Festival, as well as appearing on BBC radio and television. As a studio session musician I have recently worked with the London Symphony Orchestra and film composer Alexandre Desplat.

Along with soprano Emily Owen, I formed the duo Melismata to share a passion for the endless repertoire for voice and lute. As well as performing for Brighton Early Music Festival as BREMF Live young artists, we also work with Live Music Now to bring music-making to those that otherwise might not be able to experience, including children with SEND and older people with dementia. This involves a range of participatory performances, workshops, residencies and training with care homes and special schools. You can read more about my work with LMN in an interview here.

Teaching and inspiring new and experienced musicians of all ages and abilities is a large part of my life, and I work both and privately and as a visiting music teacher at Faraday School in London. I have also given workshops and seminars for The Purcell School and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama Junior Department, as well as training screen and stage actors for important musical scenes. In partnership with Live Music Now, I have also undertaken training in mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy for high performance with Jerry Fox at Exeter University. Originally developed for athletes and sports persons, this programme aims to provide strategies for greater awareness of the mind/body when operating under pressure to the best of our ability.

I was born in London and enjoyed a very musical education as a scholar at Bristol Cathedral Choir School, where I studied violin, piano, and percussion, and also sang in various choirs. I played in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, and went on to read languages and history at King’s College London and the London School of Economics. Not long after, I was drawn back to music, and specifically to the lute with its important but long-lost history in a wide range of repertoires. I began taking lessons with Manuel Minguillón in London, and had frequent masterclasses with Paul O’Dette around Europe. I then completed my postgraduate studies with William Carter and David Miller at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where I was supported by a scholarship from the Guildhall School Trust.

The instruments I spend most of my time playing are a theorbo by Klaus Jacobsen, an 8-course renaissance lute by Martin Haycock, and a 13-course baroque lute built by both these makers. I am a full member of the Incorporated Society of Musicians, and also hold a clear and up-to-date DBS enhanced certificate.

Please contact me for my latest biography.


​Press reviews

‘★★★★★ ... performed with finesse’
The Times

‘Ideal ... moments of great joy, great sadness and great excitement’
Bachtrack

‘A union of heavenly glory and earthly achievement ... sometimes dreams do come true’
Opera Today

‘Brilliantly responsive’
Latest

‘Superb ... music of joyful sweetness and haunting sadness’
Plays To See

‘Musically outstanding ... superlative’
Latest

‘Full of discreet virtuosity and lovely timbres’
Planet Hugill

‘Refined and careful progressions ... exposing the modulations in a fresh, honest way’
​Gscene

‘A source of constant delight throughout the evening ... the clarity of the theorbo shone through’
Early Music Today

‘Sharp and lively accompaniment ... a joy to watch’
Everything Theatre​​
  • About
  • Diary
  • Teaching
  • Gallery
  • Contact