Biography - James Widden

James Widden studied Music and English at Newcastle and Sussex universities, and undertook a postgraduate Advanced Diploma at Trinity College of Music, studying violin with Nona Liddell and viola with Nic Pendlebury. While at Trinity he led all the orchestras and the Contemporary Music Group, including memorable performances of Schoenberg's Gurrelieder at the Royal Festival Hall and with Evelyn Glennie at the Royal Naval College Chapel, Greenwich. His string quartet, the Navarra Quartet, won the Barbirolli Prize for outstanding performance of a Beethoven quartet, and he performed the solo violin part in Berg's Chamber Concerto, both at Trinity and at Blackheath Concert Halls.

Since graduating, James has pursued a busy freelance career in London and the south-east, including working with the London Sinfonietta, the Endymion Ensemble, and performances at the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic. In addition to his work as leader and administrator of the Bergamo Ensemble, he also leads several London-based orchestras, including St Paul's Sinfonia and the Phoenix Orchestra. He has performed the Kurt Weill violin concerto with the Bergamo Ensemble and with Southern Winds, at the Canterbury and Brighton Festivals, and at the Royal Northern College of Music.