James Gough is a highly sought-after recitalist and the Director of Music at St John’s, Upper Norwood. In 2009, James completed a Master’s degree in Organ Performance at the Royal Academy of Music, where his principal organ teacher was Nicolas Kynaston. During his time at the Academy, James completed the FRCO diploma, and was the recipient of several Academy prizes.

As a recitalist, James has played the complete works of J.S. Bach and César Franck, and performed at some of the UK’s most prestigious venues including St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Westminster Cathedral, The Temple Church and Bath Abbey. Further afield, James has given several recitals in France, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, and recent performances have included visits to St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh, Montpellier Cathedral, St Jaan’s s’Hertogenbosch, Rocca Massima Italy, the Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, the Herforder Orgelsommer in Germany and the Dulwich Festival of Music in London. Forthcoming recitals are planned for St Ouen, Rouen, Johanniskirche, Saarbrücken, Zadar Cathedral, and Bergen Cathedral, as well as several across the UK, including King’s College, Cambridge, and Glasgow Cathedral.

James recorded the Trio Sonatas of J. S. Bach at Clifton Cathedral, which was released on the Naxos label in 2024. This project came about following a collaboration with Dame Gillian Weir, who gave a talk on the sonatas as part of the project.

He has held positions at Southwark Cathedral, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Bride’s, Fleet Street, Wells Cathedral and St Matthew’s, Westminster. Alongside a busy performance career, James teaches the organ at the Royal College of Music Junior Department, Westminster Abbey Choir School, and Westminster School.