Bath Festival Orchestra appoints general manager

The Bath Festival’s resident ensemble the Bath Festival Orchestra (BFO) has announced the appointment of James Calver to the role of general manager. Calver will take up his position this month, succeeding Michael Garvey as he moves over to the BBC.

Based in Cambridge, Calver has worked in arts administration for over a decade. He moves to BFO from his most recent role as concerts director with Britten Sinfonia, a post which he has held for 8 years.

Calver said: ‘Joining Bath Festival Orchestra at this pivotal moment, assuming the mantle of Michael Garvey, is an immense and humbling privilege for me professionally and personally…There is so much potential and energy within this group, I’m incredibly lucky to be in a position as the newly-appointed General Manager to nurture, harness, and grow this vibrant, talented orchestra, taking BFO into uncharted territory as we enter a new era together.’

Calver has also worked with a range of national and international organisations including Snape Maltings, where he worked as artist development manager from 2013 to 2014, The Barbican, Orchestras Live, Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival, New York's Lincoln Centre, Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, and Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Calver also worked with The Sixteen to facilitate the choral ensemble’s performance of James MacMillan’s Stabat mater from the Sistine Chapel - the first ever concert live-streamed from the Vatican.

Founded in 1959 by Yehudi Menuhin, the Bath Festival Orchestra relaunched during the pandemic, with the aim of making classical music more sustainable and accessible as well as encouraging audiences and musicians to embrace diversity.