JAMES GRIFFETT tenor

Founder member of Pro Cantione Antiqua, James Griffett's solo career has covered such prestigious venues and events as the Salzburg Festival, English Bach Festival, Berlin Festival, Flanders Festival, Festival Estival de Paris, Savonlinna Opera Festival, etc.. His appearances in these and many other famous places have taken him all over the world to East and Western Europe, South America, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Singapore, El Salvadore and Mexico. He has sung as a solo guest with many well known choirs including the Royal Choral Society, King's College Cambridge, Hannover Knabenchor, Tolzer Knabenchor, Montserrat Choir of Spain, Aachener Domchor, Regesburger Domspatzen to name but a few.. His broadcast and TV performances have been with the BBC, WDR, Yorkshire Television, Radio France, BRT Belgium, NOS Hilversum, etc.

A prolific recording artist, his CD releases include

Bach's "St.John Passion" (evangelist and tenor arias)
Mozart's "Requiem"
Charpentier's "Te Deum"
Biber's "Missa St. Henrici"
Handel's "Messiah"
Stainer's "Crucifixion"
Folk Song arrangements by Haydn & Beethoven
Songs by Robert Burns arranged by
Britten's "Abraham & Isaac"
Purcell's "Oedipus"

on such major labels as CBS, DGG ARCHIV, POLYDOR, CARLTON, HYPERION, MERIDIAN, CAMPION, DECCA, ARS MUSICI, FOXGLOVE, ASV & TELDEC. His recent record contract with REGIS RECORDS, one of the foremost companies to exploit Internet sales, as well as the conventional record shop outlet, has resulted in four records that have received excellent reviews and sales, even though their contents are so diverse - Benjamin Britten, Monteverdi, Grandi plus Victorian and, released in January 2002, Edwardian ballads. Further recent releases include a CD of Folk Songs arranged by classical composers (Britten, Burgon, Vale, etc.) with the guitarist Timothy Walker for Regis, authentic music from the time of Shakespeare entitled "Shakespeare's England" for Griffin Records - who supply CD recordings for record bookshops in venues such as Buckingham Palace, Stratford Old Vic and Westminster Abbey.

He is also featured on all the 80 plus CDs of the ensemble he co-founded - PRO CANTIONE ANTIQUA - including the "Essential Gregorian Chant" CD that rose to being in the top 10 Classical CDs in the 1995 UK and USA list, rising to No.1 in Australia!!

Teaching

Over the past 10 years he has added teaching to his musical activities. He is the director and teacher of the Bradford Grammar School Choral Scholars and founder of Northern Youth. He has also been involved in vocal workshops, giving solo lessons and master classes in Milan, Florence, Berlin, Cardiff, the Prague Conservatoire, Barcelona, Wratslav, Valtice, Brno University, El Salvador, Quimper and the Antwerp Conservatoire. In the Grimsby Triennial International Singing Competition the English Song prize has only twice been won by a non English singer. These two singers came from the Czech Republic and from Italy. Both were taught by James Griffett! Recently he has been involved in master classes for the Antwerp Conservatoire, in particular their presentation of Purcell's "Dido & Aeneas" where he directed three performances.

IAN CADDY bass-baritone

IAN CADDY, bass-baritone, was a prize-winning student of singing at the Royal Academy of Music, London (where he also studied piano). Later, he studied with Otakar Kraus. He has appeared as a principal soloist in a wide variety of operas and concerts with all of the major British opera companies and orchestras, as well as with Opera La Fenice, Houston Opera, Vancouver Opera, Opéra de Nantes, Opéra d’Angers and engagements with international festivals, orchestras and ensembles, Radio and TV around the world, in Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, London, Manaus, Paris, Reykjavik, Rome, St Petersburg and Washington, among other cities.

Ian is pleased to have achieved a concert series in Zimbabwe immediately before the troubles. One of several working-cruises, on which he has been engaged, was along the Amazon River, with an Opera Gala in the fabulous Manaus Opera House. Recently he sang "Messiah" with Proinnsías Ó Duinn and Our Lady's Choral Society, Dublin, televised in the presence of the Pope in the Vatican. Also in Rome: Mendelssohn's "St Paul".

As well as many other roles with English National Opera, he has joined the company on many occasions to perform his acclaimed Pooh-Bah in Jonathan Miller's stunning production of "The Mikado". He has played the same part in Venice with Teatro La Fenice, with Vancouver Opera and with Houston Opera.

With his specialist knowledge of stage-gesture - Ian is a world authority on Baroque Acting Technique www.BaroqueGestures.com . When he employed a select vocabulary of gestures (singing from memory) in Walton's "Belshazzars Feast" and in Vaughan Williams' "Five Mystical Songs", he made a great impression upon the audiences and choirs, and received tremendous ovations.

He has sung many 'modern' and 'new' works. Of note were Ian Caddy's broadcasts on BBC Radio3 of all the bass-voice songs by Elizabeth Lutyens; he commissioned, toured and broadcast Lutyens' "Mine Eyes, My Bread, My Spade" for himself with string quartet.

A cantata by Ian Schofield: "Fire From Heaven" (for baritone, choir and brass) has already received performances in Manchester Cathedral, Portsmouth Cathedral and with Malvern Festival Chorus and South Holland Singers.

As well as singing this work, Ian has published it as one of a series by Caddy Publishing. www.CaddyPublishing.co.uk/schofield

Ian has been guest conductor of: Portsmouth Baroque Choir www.portsmouthbaroquechoir.co.uk.

Ian has sung regularly with the international solo vocal ensemble PRO CANTIONE ANTIQUA and is featured on many of the ensemble's CD recordings. He was also the producer of three productions of Medieval music dramas in Sicily featuring the Pro Cantione Antiqua singers. LUDUS DANIELIS (The Play of Daniel), LUDUS HERODIS (The Play of Herod) and A MEDIEVAL FEAST. He is a regular choral co-director of the Pro Cantione Antiqua October Singing Days in Provence. www.singingdays.co.uk .

Ian Caddy joined the adjudicators' panel for Hampshire Singer of the Year www.hampshiresingers.co.uk ; he has also examined and adjudicated at the Royal Academy of Music and at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.

In 2011 Ian Caddy will direct the premiere staging of Robert Hugill's new opera "When a Man Knows" at the Bridewell Theatre in London's West End.

For his masterclasses on stage technique in universities and conservatories, in the UK and abroad, see www.BaroqueGestures.com .