Biography
James Lavino was born in Philadelphia in 1973. He studied music at The Juilliard School in New York City, where he was a composition student of Behzad Ranjbaran. He later studied in London with Paul Patterson of the Royal Academy of Music.
Lavino’s film music includes scores for the Oscar-nominated God is the Bigger Elvis, the Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning HBO documentary film Which Way Home and for Henry Singer’s acclaimed BBC film Last Orders. His score for Alex Karpovsky’s film Woodpecker features performances by Colin Greenwood of Radiohead and Lee and Tyler Sargent of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and was hailed by The Guardian as “a stunning film soundtrack…warm…gorgeous.” Lavino also scored Matthew Galkin’s award-winning HBO documentary “I am an animal: the story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA”, Sam Neave’s “Cry Funny Happy,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and the recent eight-part documentary series “Sissinghurst” for BBC Four television.
Current and upcoming film work includes DMW Greer’s Burning Blue, Jessica Goldberg’s Refuge, and Rebecca Cammisa’s Mother Prioress.
Lavino’s choral and concert music, some of which is published by Boosey & Hawkes, has been performed in England, Spain, France, Belgium, Romania, and locations across the USA. His 2009 choral piece “They have become bright stars”, a commission for the choir of St Paul’s Cathedral (London), was premiered in the presence of the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall, and Duke of York.
Lavino’s piece “Nativity,” commissioned by Choir & Organ Magazine, was featured in the 2007 Classic FM Christmas Concert and was recorded by the choir of Westminster Abbey (James O’Donnell, conductor) on the Hyperion label. Another Christmas piece, “Before the paling of the stars”, is being recorded by The Elysian Singers of London for a 2011 release. Lavino’s choral music has been featured on the BBC Radio 3 programme “The Choir”, and his recent setting of three poems by W.H. Auden, for Exmoor Singers of London, was premiered at London’s Southbank Centre.
Other recent commissions include a piece based on the writings of Abraham Lincoln, for the choir of Westminster Abbey; and a Christmas carol for Tewkesbury Abbey Schola Cantorum.
Lavino wrote songs for the groundbreaking Disney animated show The Book of Pooh and has also created music and sound effects for several advertising agencies and stage productions. He was Composer-in-Residence for the 2003 American Music Festival in Cluj, Romania, and has been the recipient of ASCAPlus Awards, presented by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, for six years running.
Lavino has been active as a choral singer since his childhood. Most recently, as a member of the BBC Symphony Chorus, he performed at the Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican Centre and many other venues, and appears on recordings on the Naxos and Chandos labels.
Lavino holds a Master’s degree in English from Yale University and was an Associate Editor of the esteemed literary magazine The Paris Review. He earned a BA at Boston University.
