B:Music Associate Artist Ex Cathedra announces James Burton as next Artistic Director succeeding founder Jeffrey Skidmore after 57 years
/ News 28 Jan 2026News Story
- James Burton to join in Spring 2026 as Artistic Director Designate
- Jeffrey Skidmore to become Founder and Conductor Emeritus when he retires in Autumn 2027
B:Music Associate Artist Ex Cathedra has announced the appointment of James Burton as their next Artistic Director, marking a major leadership transition. Jeffrey Skidmore will retire in Autumn 2027 after 57 years, with James Burton joining Ex Cathedra in Spring 2026 as Artistic Director Designate.
James Burton is an internationally renowned conductor, composer and passionate advocate of singing, widely recognised for his dynamic leadership of choirs and orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic. His appointment, from a strong field, is the result of an inclusive search process of interviews, workshops, rehearsals and performances, involving musicians, trustees, members of Ex Cathedra’s staff and founder Jeffrey Skidmore.
Ex Cathedra represents so much that I feel passionate about as a musician: not only its striving for excellence, but also the way it cultivates the power of singing to inspire people across its community, and I have greatly enjoyed getting to know the musicians, staff, and trustees over the last few months. The group has forged a unique role within the UK’s exciting choral ecosystem, and I am looking forward to leading Ex Cathedra into its next chapter, and building on the incredible legacy which Jeffrey has given us. Next season, I look forward to making music with the group, developing plans to excite our future audiences, and I will join everyone in celebrating Jeffrey’s outstanding contribution.James Burton
James Burton will bring his experience of conducting leading British and international choirs and orchestras, including the BBC Singers, Tenebrae, OAE, Handel and Haydn Society, Ulster Orchestra, the Hallé, Aalborg Symphony and Mexico’s National Symphony Orchestra. He has recently spent eight seasons as Choral Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and four years as Director of Orchestral Activities at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts.
I am absolutely delighted with this appointment. James is an eloquent and persuasive musician with a bold and adventurous approach to repertoire and music-making. His strength of personality combined with his high-level choral, orchestral and educational experience, demonstrate to me a clear potential to relish the challenges facing the arts in the 21st century. I look forward to working closely with him over the next year or so to ensure a smooth transition and guarantee a secure and flourishing new era for Ex Cathedra.Jeffrey Skidmore, Founder and current Artistic Director of Ex Cathedra
A committed educator and advocate for young musicians, James Burton will continue Ex Cathedra’s proud history of nurturing young singers. He conducted the Schola Cantorum of Oxford for 15 years and founded both the Hallé Youth Choir and the Boston Symphony Children’s Choir. His past leadership roles include serving as Choral Director of the Hallé, and Music Director of the St. Endellion Easter Festival. His compositions are published by Edition Peters.
The 2026-27 season will be Jeffrey Skidmore’s 57th and final season as Artistic Director and Conductor, after which he will become Founder and Conductor Emeritus. Ex Cathedra will celebrate his extraordinary legacy with a series of concerts highlighting the repertoire for which the choir has become internationally renowned, beginning with a French Baroque programme on 15 February 2026, closely coinciding with his 75th birthday. Further events in the 2026–27 season will be announced in due course.
Ex Cathedra is delighted to welcome James Burton as a worthy successor to Jeffrey Skidmore. He is a musician of extraordinary accomplishment and breadth, equally inspiring to professionals, amateurs, and young people. The choir found the process of working with him to be hugely rewarding and were stimulated by his creativity and ambition. This is an exciting appointment, and I know James will build on Jeffrey Skidmore’s legacy as founder and take Ex Cathedra to ambitious new heights.Peter Phillips, Chair of Ex Cathedra
B:Music Associate Artist Ex Cathedra is a leading UK choir and Early Music ensemble with a repertoire that reaches from the 12th to the 21st centuries. Ex Cathedra is a unique musical resource; comprising specialist chamber choir, vocal consort and a period-instrument orchestra.
They also deliver a thriving education programme, aiming to explore, research and commission the finest choral music and to set the highest standards in performance and training. Ex Cathedra present a series of concerts on our stages in Symphony Hall and Town Hall. We also partner with them on their award winning school programmes ‘Singing Playgrounds’ and ‘Choir Maker’ to enable every school child across Birmingham to take part in singing workshops in Symphony Hall.
