Music director James Jarvis' involvement in choral and orchestral music-making developed while he was studying physics at Imperial College, London, where he helped found a chamber choir later known as Exmoor Singers. In 1983 he began conducting the group and was subsequently appointed its music director, a post he has held continuously since then. Since 1996 James has been founder-director of Giltspur Chamber Choir, a sociable, auditioned chamber choir rehearsing and performing in the City of London.

With Exmoor Singers, James has appeared on the Edinburgh Fringe, at the Cheltenham International Music Festival and at international festivals in Sligo, Fano and Tours.

In 2001, James initiated the Sounds: voices of our time series of concerts at the South Bank, a long-term project to showcase, through Exmoor Singers, the music of new and established living composers.