James Davey
Amici Cantate’s Music Director is James Davey, he is one of the UK’s most distinguished and respected choral directors, in demand for his work as a conductor, choir trainer, choral education practitioner, arranger and adjudicator.
When not inspiring Amici, he is also Musical Director of Chantage, winners of the Malta International Choral Competition Grand Prix 2015 and BBC Radio 3 Choir of the year 2006, the Chandos Chamber Choir, Halstead Choral and 4Tunes, the award-winning staff choir at Channel 4 TV in association with Music in Offices.
Formerly the chief choral advisor for the BBC’s sheet music archive, James has delivered projects for the BBC Singers Education Department as well as regularly conducting and preparing choirs for broadcasts on television and radio. He is also Director of ChoirFixer Limited, fixing professional ensembles for recording sessions and events for films, TV advertising and the entertainment industry.
James is also a conducting tutor for the Association of British Choral Directors and the Association of Irish Choirs and is on the ABCD’s Council of Practitioners. In 2018 he co-founded the London International Choral Conducting Competition (LICCC), the first of its kind in the UK.
Previous Musical Directors
John Tripp
A Cantate parent himself, John worked with Michael Kibblewhite as assistant director for two years before taking over the helm from 2011-2018. John is well known in Hertfordshire as a baritone soloist, chorister, pianist and performer, and has directed a number of groups including Imperial College Operatic Society, Imperial Opera, Ware Operatic Society, the Morgan Stanley Singers and Canary Wharf Choir.
Michael Kibblewhite
Michael Kibblewhite founded Amici in 2005. He was also Founder-Director of Cantate Youth Choir with whom he won many national and international competitions. He has also directed several other prestigious choirs including Cambridge Chorale, English Festival Voices, Harlow Boy's Choir, Harlow Chorus, Hertfordshire Chorus, East London Chorus, King's Lynn Festival Chorus and Coro '94.
