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His busy opera and concert schedule has taken James throughout the UK and Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Israel, Singapore and the USA. In oratorio he has performed from a repertoire of more than 60 works including Elgar's "Gerontius", Bach's "Passions", Haydn's "Creation", "Beethoven's 9th", Mendelssohn's "Elijah", Verdi's "Requiem", Britten's "St.Nicolas", Frank Martin's "Golgotha" in Bern and Zürich cathedrals, and the Narrator in "L'Enfance du Christ" alongside Katia Ricciarelli in Rome and Florence. James boasts a repertoire of more than 50 roles in opera and operetta
including Tichon ("Katya Kabanova") for Opera Theatre Company
in Lisbon and Porto, Don Basilio ("Marriage of Figaro") under
the baton of Raymond Leppard for Scottish Opera, Pinkerton ("Madame
Butterfly") at Hever Castle in Kent, Snout/Wall ("A Midsummer
Night's Dream") for Singapore Lyric Opera, Lensky ("Eugene Onegin")
in Russia, Alfredo ("La Traviata") at Como in Italy and many
roles for New Israeli Opera, Opera Ireland, Wexford Festival and Buxton
Festival. The Celtic Tenors' 4th album on Dara Records (Ireland) and Telarc (world-wide)
includes such guests as Air Supply, Brian Kennedy, Majella Cullagh and
Samantha Mumba. The Celtic Tenors' 5th album of North American songs recorded
in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles, with a Grammy-winning production
team. The 6th album is currently in production, and has a more Celtic
flavour. 2010/2011 sees further extensive tours of the USA and Canada
(including headlining several of the major Irish Festivals), the UK and
Ireland, the Middle East, the Netherlands and elsewhere. Check out Tour
dates on: www.celtictenors.com
and www.celtic-tenors-fans.com
. In June 2007, James made his first trip to Africa as part of a team of
11 volunteers (mostly from his home town of Sligo) who took part in firstly
fund-raising, and then upgrading the beyond-basic accommodation and education
facilities at Cheryl’s Children’s Home, a home for AIDS orphans
in Dagoretti on the outskirts of the horrendous Kibera slum in Nairobi
(Kenya) – Africa’s largest slum. See www.kenyabuild.com
Cheryl’s is just one of the many projects being supported long-term
by Kenya Build.
The entire trip was organised by James’ lifelong friend from Sligo
– Basil Love. For several years now, Basil and his teams of volunteers
have been independently travelling to Nairobi to give some hope to these
unfortunate children who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves
in this frightful situation. In Basil’s projects, there is no ‘Middle-Man’
– every cent raised goes directly to the project, and the children’s
futures. James now travels regularly to Kenya, in particular to Cheryl’s
to build, to teach the children music and singing, to organise fund-raising
concerts, and to take the children on one-off day-trips to see some of
the many positive aspects of their beautiful country, their rich wildlife
to name but one obvious example. For many this was their first time ever
outside of the slum, and to see animals other than rats and snakes.
James, along with his dear friend Maeve Coghlan (Soprano - see www.myspace.com/maevecoghlan), and the Celtic Tenors' Musical Director Colm Henry (see www.myspace.com/colmhenry), are now regularly involved in fund-raising concerts in prestigious Nairobi venues. The concerts are organised by fellow Sligoman Gerry Cunningham, who works for the UN in Nairobi. Some of the children from Cheryl’s Children’s Home formed a choir for these memorable concerts. Check out the clips on You Tube, by going to www.youtube.com and typing in “Cheryl’s Children”. Or follow the links on the “Kenya Page”. As this is an ongoing project, and the orphanages are in constant debt, if anyone feels they might like to give to this extremely worthy cause (No pressure whatsoever!) the relevant bank details are below. Many thanks! Account Name : Kenya Build c/o James Nelson, Read about upcoming fund-raising concerts for Kenya Build on the Kenya Build page. Agency ContactsCeltic Tenor Management : For North American Bookings : For European Bookings : For Canadian bookings:
For other enquiries : Links www.celtictenors.com
(Official Website) |
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From
Sligo, in the heart of Yeats Country, James is a B.A.,B.Mus (Honours)
graduate from University College Dublin. Teachers include David Harper
(London), Britta Sundberg (Stockholm) and Edith Forrest (Dublin).