James Morley Hailed as “Australia’s most exciting young cellist” by Limelight magazine, Switzerland-based Australian musician James Morley works largely as a soloist and chamber musician, and frequently extends into experimental improvisation, electronics and post-instrumental performance In 2024 James was a winner at the live finals of the annual YCAT international auditions at the Wigmore Hall, subsequently joining their roster. The forthcoming season sees James return to Wigmore Hall for a performance of solo and chamber works with the Manchester Collective, directed by Duncan Ward. Highlights of 2023-24 include giving his solo recital debut at Sydney Opera House Utzon Room, touring Australia with Jean-Guihen Queyras & Satsuki Odamura for Musica Viva, solos recitals at Phoenix Central Park Season XI, Harrogate Festival, Tempo Rubato, Klänge, and with APEX4 for Sydney Festival. He gave his UKARIA solo recital debut at Adelaide Festival 2022 to critical acclaim, and was a finalist of the prestigious Freedman Fellowship 2020. James is currently completing a Masters of Contemporary Music Performance at the Musik-Akademie Basel, tutored by Marcus Weiss, Yaron Deutsch, Sarah Maria Sun & Mike Svoboda, and will continue in Ergänzungsstudium in the classes of Thomas Demenga and Imke Frank. Originally from Adelaide/Tandanya, he completed his Bachelor of Music (Performance) at Sydney Conservatorium on scholarship with Julian Smiles in 2018, and then under the tutelage of Howard Penny at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in Melbourne. In 2019 James won the Audience Choice award in the ANAM Concerto Competition final, for which he performed Prokofiev’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and continued to win several prizes including 2020 Most Outstanding Recital Prize, and the 2021 best performance of a work by an Australian composer. James has also previously performed concertos with Adelaide Youth Orchestra, Sydney Youth Orchestra Wind Orchestra, and was a featured soloist in the 2018/19 seasons of Ensemble Apex. He has won multiple competitions and prizes across Australia and New Zealand. Other solo engagements include the Adelaide International Cello Festival, recitals for the National Youth Concerto Competition, Play On, and St Silas series. In masterclasses he has played for Nicholas Altstaedt, Johannes Moser, Li-Wei Qin, Alban Gerhardt, Gavriel Lipkind, and many more. James is a specialist in contemporary music performance, and has had the pleasure of closely collaborating with many composers and performers. He has premiered solo works by Liza Lim (‘Cello Playing ~ as Meteorology), Josephine Macken, Ivan Liuzzo, Johannes MacDonald, ensemble works by Bernhard Lang, Stefan Prins, Elnaz Seyedi, Séverine Ballon, Lucia Kilger, Clemens Thomas, Bree van Reyk, Michael Wertmüller, and orchestral works by Thomas Adès. He has performed at Lucerne Festival, Frau Musica Nova Köln, Spreehalle Berlin, Tzlil Meudcan Tel Aviv, Festival Musica Strasbourg, Vapore D’Estate Milan, Festival dei Due Mondi Spoleto, Harvard Group for New Music, and has collaborated with the likes of Simon Steen-Andersen, Sylvain Cambreling, Stefan Prins and Håkon Stene. Endlessly fascinated in experimental improvisation, James released a record (postauto) in 2024 as Helen + James with bassist/vocalist Helen Svoboda. James is grateful to be recently mentored in contemporary cello, composition/improvisation, and project management by Lucas Fels, Séverine Ballon, Pierre Morlet, Helmut Lachenman, Genevieve Lacey, and Jasmine Wing Yin Leung. Chamber music is a core focus in James’ work. In Europe he performs with a diverse array of new music ensembles, including ensemble S C O P E, Ensemble of Nomads, Ensemble eeek!, Ministry of Bad Decisions, Ensemble Aventure, and zone expérimentale. In 2019 James co founded Rathdowne Quartet who were engaged by Melbourne Recital Centre, Utzon Room SOH, Bendigo Chamber Music Festival, Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, Tempo Rubato, Peninsula Summer Music Festival, and fortyfivedownstairs. Regular projects in Melbourne include collaborations with Wilma & Friends, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, members of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and both Penny and Partridge Quartets. Other chamber music colleagues include Jean-Guihen Queyras, Gregory Ahss, Sophie Rowell, and more. He performs as a duo with pianist Dmitry Batalov, with engagements in Basel, Lugano, and more. James has participated in chamber music-oriented schools and festivals in Salzburg, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, and Paris. Mentors include Goldner Quartet, London Haydn Quartet, Quatuor Zaïde, Rainer Schmidt, Eberhard Feltz, Johannes Meissl, William Kuss, Andrew Haveron, and more. James was a founding member of Continuo Continuum, an Adelaide-based early music ensemble comprised of only continuo instruments specialising in discovering, adapting and performing early music works by composers from a wide range of cultures. James has extensive orchestral experience; he has toured with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Kammerorchester Basel, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, as principal cello under Thomas Adès of Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, as principal cello of Ensemble Apex, and with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Symphony Orchestra. James was the Emerging Artist for cello with the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 2019, and in 2022-23 was Akademist for cello with Kammerorchester Basel (mentored by Christoph Dangel), touring extensively with both orchestras. James has toured internationally and as principal cello with Australian Youth Orchestra and its Momentum Ensemble. James plays the 'Ex-Robert Barrett' cello made in 2004 by Rainer Beilharz, kindly on loan from Professor Mitra Guha, in memory of her late husband. . Contact To book James please contact: Etta Dainty – Senior Artist Manager [email protected] Adam Maxey - Assistant Artist Manager [email protected] 0207 379 8477 Follow James on: Website Instagram Photos © Kaupo Kikkas