James Meredith bio

James Meredith Conductor

One of the San Francisco Bay Area's most well-rounded musicians, James Meredith conducts the country's acclaimed Sonos Handbell Ensemble. This group's nationally recognized CDs have been played by classical music stations throughout the US. The San Francisco Examiner called it "sensational." A recording for a video shown in Bose Corporation stores around the world, demonstrating surround sound speaker systems, included artists such as Yo Yo Ma and the Cinncinati Pops.

A native of North Carolina, Mr. Meredith received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Tulane University. He is a musical partner with mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade and dramatic soprano Olivia Stapp. As a solo pianist, vocal and instrumental accompanist and conductor in America, Europe and Asia, his work has brought him into contact with such artists as Elly Ameling, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Eleanor Steber, Gerald Moore for whom he has played masterclasses. He has been pianist Dalton Baldwin's assistant in art song in summer masterclasses at the French Conservatory in Nice. Concerts with Ms. Von Stade included an appearance on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" reaching a National Public Radio audience of over two million listeners and two concerts with Sonos in a premiere of Libby Larsen’s “Hell’s Belles.” He has been conductor of the Oakland Symphony Chorus, was on the faculty of Merritt College, taught masterclasses at Holy Names College, was Festival Opera chorus master for two seasons, teaches yearly Art Song masterclasses at San Jose State University and is currently on the voice/piano faculty at UC-Berkeley with the award-winning Young Musicians Program.

As a professional musician in the classical musical community, Mr. Meredith brings a high standard to his work with handbells. Sonos Handbell Ensemble has done much to bring the art of handbell ringing into the musical mainstream by appearing with symphony orchestras, performing on major concert series and collaborating with other well-established performing ensembles including the Oakland East Bay Symphony and the Kronos quartet.

Mr. Meredith's involvement in handbells began in 1983 at Grace Presbyterian Church in Walnut Creek, California where he directed three choirs. One of these, Concert Bronze, comprised of teenagers from the Taiwanese/American branch of the church, won first place at the First Annual Northern California Handbell Competition in 1986 and performed 23 concerts in an 11-day tour of Taiwan, Hong Kong and the Philippines in 1989.

Since 1983 Mr. Meredith has been a clinician and conductor at workshops and festivals and has been on the faculty at Handbell Exploration, Pinnacle at Las Vegas and three American Guild of English Handbell Ringers Directors' Seminars, Springfield, Spokane and Norfolk, where Sonos had been invited to play featured concerts. He teaches graduate level conducting at Concordia University in Wisconsin.

Mr. Meredith is the author of many arrangements and transcriptions. His first major work, Kodo Tryptich, for handbells, handchimes and percussion was premiered at the 1997 AGEHR Directors' Seminar to great critical acclaim and has been performed five times since its premiere. His last work, "Natura," for bells/chimes/percussion and girls chorus was commissioned by the San Francisco Girls Chorus and premiered by Sonos with the chorus in San Francisco in the spring of 2003. He is CEO of Meredith Music Press which publishes advanced music for handbells sold nationwide and internationally. Visit the Sonos website.