biography

James Saunders' music is regularly performed in the UK and Europe, notably at Darmstadt where his Six Pieces won the Stipendienpreis at the 1998 Internationalen Ferienkursen für Neue Musik. He was one of the featured composers at the Ostrava New Music Days in 2001 and at the 13th International Composers' Seminar, Boswil, Switzerland in 1997, subsequently undertaking a composition residency at the Kunstlerhaus, Boswil in May 1998. In 2003 and 2007 he held residencies at the Experimental Studio fur Akustiche Kunst in Freiburg. James' music has also been played at numerous international festivals, including Bludenz Tage fur Zeitgenossiche Musik, Brighton Festival, The Cutting Edge (London), Darmstadt, Donaueschingen, Gothenburg Arts Sounds, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Inventionen (Berlin), The Kitchen (New York), Music We'd Like to Hear (London), Rational Rec (London), Roaring Hooves (Mongolia), Ultima (Oslo), and Wittener Tage fur Neue Kammermusik. It has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and Resonance FM (UK), WDR3 and SWR2 (Germany), and national radio in Norway, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden.

He has worked with Apartment House (including occasional guest appearances as a performer), asamisimasa, Sebastian Berweck, ensemble chronophonie, duo Contour, Rhodri Davies, Nicolas Hodges, London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Modern, Psappha, ensemble recherche, SUONO MOBILE, 175 East and +- ensemble. Recent work builds upon his exploration of extremely short timescales to produce mosaic-like constructions drawing on an evolving pool of material. This extended project, titled #[unassigned], overlays short pieces in different combinations, with a unique version being prepared specifically for each individual performance. As a performer he plays in the duo Parkinson Saunders with composer Tim Parkinson, and has also performed with Alvin Lucier, Christian Wolff and Phill Niblock.

James studied at the University of Huddersfield and latterly with Anthony Gilbert at the Royal Northern College of Music. He is a Senior Lecturer in Music at Bath Spa University. In 2007 projects included new versions of #[unassigned] for ensemble reflexion K (Eckernförde), EXAUDI (Aldeburgh), Ensemble Modern (Donaueschingen), Rhodri Davies (Huddersfield), ensemble chronophonie/Experimental Studio fur Akustische Kunst der SWR (Freiburg), Barbara Luneburg (Frankfurt), and Christine Tavolacci/Tanja Masanti (Basel). James is also a participant in the London Sinfonietta's Blue Touch Paper Scheme, and held an AHRC Research Leave Award for 2005-6. He was commissioned by Sudwestrundfunk for a new version of #[unassigned] for Ensemble Modern, performed at Donaueschingen in October 2007 and broadcast live on SWR. An interactive CD version of #[unassigned] played by Apartment House was released on the confront label in 2007.

"In #200203, tiny, evanescent sounds - like the whisper of a bow on the upper part of a violin - made the audience focus on minuscule changes of timbre and dynamic. Every sound in the auditorium became a part of the piece. Saunders's music turned listening into a dangerous and invigorating experience....Saunders's piece was released from tradition..."

Tom Service, The Guardian, 22.02.03