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 Abigail James is one of the most exciting guitarists in
the UK today, with a passion for contemporary music and
commitment to widening the guitar repertoire and its role
in music-making. As a Scholarship student at the Royal
College of Music, studying with Carlos Bonell, she won
the RCM prize for the performance of a work by a student
composer and the Madeline Walton Guitar Prize. She also
took part in a recording of John Lambert's Tread Softly
for a CD of his music on NMC. In January 2001 she gave
her Purcell Room debut in the Park Lane Group Young Concert
Artists Series, and her performance was broadcast as a
highlight of the series on BBC Radio 3's Hear and Now programme.
She has performed in Holland, France, Germany and Japan.
Abigail has given acclaimed performances in venues including
St Martin-in-the-Fields, St John's Smith Square, St James's
Church Piccadilly, Barbican, The Purcell Room, Tate Britain,
Conway Hall, Clore Studio (Royal Opera House), Queen Elizabeth
Hall (South Bank). She has given recitals for music clubs
and guitar societies around the country at Redbridge, Southampton,
Curry Rivel, Herne Bay, Canterbury and appeared in festivals
including Buxton, Canterbury, Warwick, Cheltenham, Charlton
Kings Guitar Festival, Bath International Guitar Festival
and the Guitar Festival of Great Britain.
 Abigail has taken on some of the most challenging guitar
parts of the twentieth century in Maxwell Davies' two operas
The Martyrdom of St Magnus and The Lighthouse and Boulez's
Le Marteau sans Maître. In 2000 she toured with The
Opera Group (St Magnus) and in 2001 played with Music Theatre
Wales (The Lighthouse) on their summer and autumn UK tours
at venues from Newcastle's Playhouse to the Linbury Theatre
of the Royal Opera House. She also joined them in Quimper's
Festival des Mondes Celtes and Düsseldorf's Sechs
Tage Festival. Abigail has also performed with contemporary
ensembles Reservoir and The Modern Consort. She was a leading
member of the London Guitar Trio and Ceciliana Flute & Guitar
Duo.
Abigail's debut solo CD Equinox with Riverrun Records
is due for release in 2004 and includes music by Elliott
Carter,
Peter Sculthorpe, Louis Andriessen, Toru Takemitsu, Phil
Cashian, Michael Zev Gordon, Piers Hellawell, Gilbert Biberian
and Pete Wyer.
 Her passion for innovative artistic collaboration has
taken her on tour in Japan with Hartland Chamber Opera
and Japanese
puppet group Saruhachi-Za in a production of The She-Fox
of Shinoda, a Japanese folk tale, set to music by British
composer Colin Hodgetts. She has also performed extensively
with contemporary dance group Snag Project at the Clore
Studio of the Royal Opera House, Queen Elizabeth Hall,
Greenwich Dance Agency, Tate Britain and Swindon's Taking
Risks Festival.
Abigail has recently formed a new artistic duo with choreographer
and dancer Sarah Warsop with whom she gave a performance
in BMIC’s Cutting Edge Series at The Warehouse, London.
She also commissioned a short dance film from choreographer/dancer
Jo Fong for Phil Cashian’s solo guitar work, Black
Venus. Abigail also works regularly with flautist and composer
Rowland Sutherland. Together they have given recent concerts
in York’s Late Music Festival and in the Corsham
Festival as part of BMIC’s Cutting Edge tour.
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