“Works of art make rules; rules do not make works of art.”
Jamie Cumming-Wesley is a British choral composer whose music has been performed and recorded by a number of London-based vocal ensembles, including Chantage, The Epiphoni Consort and London Voices. His work combines both secular and sacred works and mixes contemporary harmony with that of the early choral tradition. Influences include Arvo Pärt, James MacMillan and Eric Whitacre, and more recently Lucy Walker and Taylor Scott Davis.
Works such as his Nunc Dimittis, Her Army and Unitas in Sapienta (The Anthem at Goodenough College, London) have been performed and recorded by established London-based choirs.
Jamie studied Music at the University of Durham before undertaking postgraduate study in Musicology and Composition at the University of Oxford. During his years in London he was active as both a singer and musical leader, helping to direct an a cappella ensemble alongside the composer Rebecca Dale, while collaborating with a range of choirs and chamber ensembles across the capital.
Now based in Edinburgh, Jamie continues to compose for choir and vocal ensembles, setting both secular and sacred texts with a preference for 8-part choral textures.