Ambitious Birmingham musician James Ham talks to Christopher Morley about his desires to be a full-time conductor.

James Ham is a young conductor of immense enterprise as he follows his dream.

The 27-year-old University of Birmingham graduate already has a huge portfolio of achievements, including undergoing conducting tuition at the world-renowned St Petersburg Conservatoire.

“There are a number of reasons why I went there,” James explains.

“It’s a great course, with a proven history of producing great conductors. And more importantly, you get a lot of practical experience, with the orchestra every week, and lessons with our professor.

“And it was a chance to experience another culture, which I think is quite important, one that has contributed quite enormously to western classical music in the last 150 years. Also on the personal level it’s been nice to live abroad, and to grow and develop as a human being.”

How has James been able to subsidise these studies?

“Firstly, when I graduated from Birmingham University I was working for two or three years, teaching there and at Birmingham Junior Conservatoire.

"And the point about St Petersburg is that the cost of living is quite a lot less than it is here. So firstly the fees, and then I live in student accommodation which is very, very cheap, so that helps.”

James’s first conducting teacher was Denise Ham, which prompts the obvious question, was his mother then his first conducting teacher?

“No, no, that’s just coincidence so far as the name goes! Denise Ham – we just happen to share the same surname.

"I was a pupil of the Junior Conservatoire, and she conducted the orchestra. So when I became interested in conducting I started to get tuition from her. She was then teaching at the Royal Academy of Music in London as well.

“She studied with George Hurst, himself a great conductor but also a big figure in terms of conducting-teaching in this country, and she was also a cellist and pianist.”

James, whose mother comes from Hong Kong and whose father is English-born of Chinese descent, went to grammar school in Rugby and had private musical tuition, first on piano and then flute, an instrument on which he has won several accolades, including reaching the Midlands final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition.