Hailed as “Australia’s most exciting young cellist” (Limelight), Switzerland-based Australian musician James Morley works largely as a soloist and chamber musician, and frequently extends into experimental improvisation, electronics and post-instrumental performance. In 2024 James became a YCAT Artist, following a recital performance at Wigmore Hall, before winning the John Cage Award as a duo with Dmitry Batalov. Performance highlights include giving his solo recital debut at Sydney Opera House, Utzon Room, touring Australia with Jean-Guihen Queyras & Satsuki Odamura for Musica Viva, solo recitals at Phoenix Central Park Season XI, Harrogate Festival, Tempo Rubato, Klänge, and joining Manchester Collective in Wigmore Hall and APEX4 at Sydney Festival. He gave his UKARIA solo recital debut at Adelaide Festival 2022 to critical acclaim, and was a finalist of the prestigious Freedman Fellowship 2020.

In 2025 he returned to perform solo at UKARIA, alongside performances at Into the Open Strasbourg, Musica Viva, Brunswick Music Festival, Abbotsford Convent, and more. In 2026 he will be in residence at Harvard University to develop a collection of new works for solo cello as well as developing improvisatory works at UKARIA with Helen Svoboda, will present solo recitals at Wigmore Hall, Berlin Konzerthaus and more, and will perform as concerto soloist with Canberra Symphony Orchestra.

James began a Performance Master under Nicolas Altstaedt at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin in 2025. He completed a post-graduate year under Thomas Demenga and Imke Frank at Musik-Akademie Basel the year prior, following a Masters of Contemporary Music Performance there under Marcus Weiss, Yaron Deutsch, Sarah Maria Sun & Mike Svoboda. Originally from Adelaide/Tandanya, he completed his Bachelor of Music (Performance) at Sydney Conservatorium on scholarship with Julian Smiles in 2018, and then under the tutelage of Howard Penny at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in Melbourne/Naarm.

James is a specialist in contemporary music performance, and has had the pleasure of closely collaborating with many composers and performers. He has premiered solo works by Liza Lim (‘Cello Playing ~ as Meteorology), Josephine Macken, Ivan Liuzzo, Elnaz Seyedi, Isaac Roth Blumfield, Fergus Hall, Jane Sheldon, ensemble works by Bernhard Lang, Stefan Prins, Elnaz Seyedi, Séverine Ballon, Lucia Kilger, Clemens Thomas, Bree van Reyk, Michael Wertmüller, and orchestral works by Thomas Adès. He has performed at Lucerne Festival, Frau Musica Nova Köln, Spreehalle Berlin, Tzlil Meudcan Tel Aviv, Festival Musica Strasbourg, Vapore D’Estate Milan, Festival dei Due Mondi Spoleto, Volta Kammermusikfest, Harvard Group for New Music, and has collaborated with the likes of Simon Steen-Andersen, Sylvain Cambreling, Stefan Prins and Håkon Stene. As an improviser, James released the record postauto in 2024 as Helen + James with renowned bassist/vocalist Helen Svoboda. He was recently guest mentor in the specialised performance of the music of Liza Lim at the Hochschule für Musik Frankfurt. James is grateful to be mentored in contemporary cello, composition/improvisation, andproject management by Lucas Fels, Séverine Ballon, Pierre Morlet, Helmut Lachenman, Genevieve Lacey, and Jasmine Wing Yin Leung.

Chamber music is a core focus in James’ work. In Europe he regularly performs with a diverse array of new music ensembles, including ensemble S C O P E, NAMES, Ensemble of Nomads, Ensemble eeek!, Manchester Collective, Ensemble Garage, KlangLab, Ministry of Bad Decisions, Ensemble Aventure, Voltakammermusik Collective, and zone expérimentale. In 2019 James co founded Rathdowne Quartet who were engaged by Melbourne Recital Centre, Utzon Room Sydney Opera House, Bendigo Chamber Music Festival, and more. Regular projects in Melbourne include collaborations with Wilma & Friends, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, members of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and both Penny and Partridge Quartets. Other chamber music colleagues include Pekka Kuusisto, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Gregory Ahss, Sophie Rowell, regularly with pianist Dmitry Batalov as well as violinist Anna da Silva Chen.

James plays the 'Ex-Robert Barrett' cello made in 2004 by Rainer Beilharz, kindly on loan from Professor Mitra Guha, in memory of her late husband.

Header image: Kaupo Kikkas