James Golborn
Musical Director | Conductor
Professional Stick Waver
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James Golborn is a London-based pianist, conductor and composer with a unique background spanning both jazz and classical music. He studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, where he completed a Bachelor’s degree in composition and a Master’s degree in jazz percussion, graduating in 2016. Highlights of his time there included composing and co-producing full-length musical Fleeced!, which went on to tour to Edinburgh Fringe Festival after its initial run at The Gate Arts Centre in Cardiff, and conducting a performance of his piece Voyager I for 50-piece orchestra in the Dora Stoutzker Hall.
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Composition projects since have included a commission for narrator, two clarinets, string quartet and percussion for the Bristol-based Insight Ensemble; composing, arranging and underscoring musicals and plays for venues including Harlow Playhouse, the Union Theatre, the Gaiety Theatre (Isle of Man) and the Underbelly Festival at the Southbank Centre; and more recently recording flute and piano piece Erin with the Luna Duo.
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As well as composing for stage, James has over five years of experience as a musical director for professional stage productions. He went on to study classical conducting privately with Peter Stark and with John Landor on the London Musical Arts conducting course. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he has been acting conductor of the London Lawyers’ Chorus, preparing a virtual performance of Haydn’s Te Deum in C No. 2. James works as a ballet pianist at the Royal Academy of Dance, Pineapple Studios and the highly esteemed Thomas’ London Day Schools.
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For more information please visit www.jamesgolborn.com
Alexander Casson
Leader
Awesome violinist and all-round good egg
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Edinburgh born Violinist Alexander Casson has gained considerable experience in recent years as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. After graduating from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in 2016, he received full scholarship for a two-year Artist’s Diploma at Michigan State University, where he studied with Dr Walter Verdehr (The Verdehr Trio). While in Michigan, he performed regularly in chamber projects with faculty and served as concertmaster of the University’s Symphony, Opera and Contemporary Orchestras on several occasions. In 2020 Alexander received his Masters in Violin Performance from the Royal Academy of Music, where he was taught by Jack Liebeck.
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Highlights during Alexander’s studies have included being awarded the Bridgewood and Nietzert string quartet prize (2015) and learning from international artists such as the Emerson String Quartet, Brooklyn Rider String Quartet, Elias String Quartet and the Fidelio Piano Trio. In 2019 he made his concerto debut, performing Mozart’s 5th Violin Concerto at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh with the Waverley Consort.
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This year he was accepted into the 20th anniversary fellowship orchestra of Southbank Sinfonia who he performs with every week.
Chris Childs
Founder | Orchestra Manager
The one who sends all the emails
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After taking up the violin for a hobby as an adult, Chris soon found himself playing in various amateur orchestras across London, where he discovered the joy of playing classical music. Chris is currently a long-term member of the Wandsworth Symphony Orchestra and has played violin as part of a pit band for local amateur productions of the musicals Funny Girl, Big Fish and Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein.
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Having previously played as the Leader of the City Showtunes Orchestra, Chris decided to combine his love of playing with his passion for musical theatre, and formed the Richmond Light Orchestra in 2021.
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Chris runs his own business from home, working both as a freelance Graphic Designer, and also as a Cake Artist.
