Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir

Our Musical DirectorJim Bate

In 2004 Jim started learning the piano, aged four, and later began his organ studies in 2011 under the tutelage of Leeds Minster Cathedral Organist, Alex Woodrow. Jim continued to study music with an organ scholarship at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University. He attained the highest mark in his cohort for his dissertation on Schubert's Oeuvre.

During his undergraduate studies, Jim cultivated his passion for choral conducting while leading his college's choirs. This passion was furthered by tuition under Steven Grahl, Paul Spicer and Hilary Davan Wetton, as well as by attending masterclasses with Simon Carrington, Owen Rees and Jeremy Summerly. In 2022 Jim completed a Masters in Choral Conducting at the University of Birmingham under the guidance of Simon Halsey OBE and Julian Wilkins. Whilst there, he conducted in prestigious venues such as Symphony Hall and Town Hall, Birmingham. He also sang in the illustrious Birmingham University Singers under Bob Chilcott's baton and co-directed the University Camerata.

Jim now works as a private tax advisor at PwC in Birmingham, but remains a musical zealot as the director of music for: the B:Music Workplace Choir; the Warwickshire Singers; The Elgar Scholars; PwC Midlands Choir; as well as the esteemed Royal Leamington Spa Bach Choir; and as a singer in the CBSO Chorus.