James Weeks  (*1978) is a composer, conductor and artistic director, based in the North of England. His music typically explores pared-down musical materials, microtonality and Just Intonation, and ideas of duration and temporality, embodiment, and plain-speaking. His most recent work has focused increasingly on a deeply embodied relationship with the natural world.

His music has been performed and broadcast worldwide, and seven portrait discs have been released to date: Book of Flames and Shadows (Winter&Winter, 2022) Summer (another timbre 2021), windfell (another timbre 2019), Mala punica (Winter&Winter, 2017), Signs of Occupation (Métier 2016), mural (confront 2015) and TIDE (Métier 2013). His work also appears on the Wandelweiser, HCR, NMC and New Focus labels.

Collaborators and other performers of his work have included GBSR Duo, Quatuor Bozzini, Explore Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, Royal Northern Sinfonia, BBC SSO, Ives Ensemble, Plus-Minus, An Assembly, Talea, EXAUDI, Ekmeles, CoMA, Mira Benjamin, Saviet/Houston, Apartment House and Anton Lukoszevieze.

Awards include a British Composer Award (2018) for Libro di fiammelle e ombre, written for EXAUDI, and an Ivors Academy Composer Award (2019) for Leafleoht, written for Quatuor Bozzini.

In 2002 he founded EXAUDI (www.exaudi.org.uk) with soprano Juliet Fraser, now regarded as one of the world’s leading vocal ensembles for new music, with whom he maintains a busy international touring and recording schedule. Strongly in demand as a conductor of new music across the UK and Europe, he has also worked extensively with amateur musicians, particularly with CoMA (Contemporary Music for All), and directs numerous workshops in new and early music each year.

James was Associate Head of Composition at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London from 2012-17, and took up his present position at Durham University in 2017, where he is currently Associate Professor of Composition.

https://www.jamesweeks.org

https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/james-d-weeks/

Composing Ecology

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James Weeks

Eric Skytterholm Egan

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