Recorder31 Day 8 | Player Profile: James Risdon

One of the aspects we love most about Recorder31 is the opportunity to introduce you to fantastic recorder players, and in doing so, to spread the word about this wonderful instrument and the people whose work carry it forward. Today we are pleased to feature an interview with one such player, James Risdon.

About James

James has had an almost lifelong fascination with the recorder. His formal studies were with the late Alan Davis and subsequently with Rebecca Miles. He gained his LRSM with distinction in 2011 and in the same year was placed runner-up in the international competition for blind musicians at the Jan Dale Conservatoire in Prague.

His repertoire and work span the Middle Ages to ‘wet on the page’ with several dedications, commissions and compositions to his name. His solo album Echoes of Arcadia is typical of his eclectic tastes, plotting the recorder’s history from the pleasure garden to the mountain valley, ethereal to electronic.

James is a founder member of the British Paraorchestra, directed by Charles Hazlewood with whom he performed at the closing of the 2012 Paralympic Games with Coldplay. James is also recorder player with RNS Moves, an ensemble of musicians from the Royal Northern Sinfonia and musicians with disabilities.

We spoke to James to find out more about his love of the recorder, his experience as a blind musician, and his current projects.

Q: What was your route to becoming a recorder player?

Like many people, I discovered the recorder through the school lunchtime recorder group

I was lucky enough to hear both Piers Adams and Michala Petri in my home county of Devon which encouraged me onwards.

I had lessons with Nancy Daly who took me to Grade 7 in two years of lessons which were the highlight of my week. I then studied with Alan Davis who introduced me to the delights of Hotteterre, Barsanti, extended techniques and even creating my own study pieces.

For various reasons, I was advised against studying music, so came back to private study once I had a “sensible job”!

I was lucky enough to find Rebecca Miles who really got me back on my feet, guiding me to a distinction for my LRSM.

Q: You’ve done quite a few unusual things, could you tell us how your recorder playing journey has evolved?

Not going to music college and not being able to sight-read have probably imposed something of a glass ceiling on the amount of work I have been able to do. It’s taken me a long time to accept this and not to feel a slight failure. That glass ceiling has been higher than I ever thought possible and the recorder has led me to some improbable places including a pod on the London Eye, playing for the Japanese Government and performing alongside Coldplay in the closing of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London with Paraorchestra.

Q: Do you have any particular concerts or gigs that stand out or that were particularly special?

I think your first concerto performance is always special. My first recorder concerto performances were in the stunning Spanish Hall at Prague Castle as part of a huge gala concert for the Association for the Blind in the Czech Republic. I played Vivaldi’s RV441 and RV443 and the rehearsals were memorable for the fact that I spoke no Czech and the conductor spoke almost no English….

Obviously my Proms debut with Paraorchestra this time last year was a pinch-me moment. The arrangements for our 12-song set with the Breath arrived with me just over two months out which was somewhat daunting. Such was my anxiety about learning the dots, rests, cues, and instrument changes that I didn’t tell anyone about it until the week before.

A recent concert with Rachel Brown was very special. Our challenge was to find a full programme for flute and recorder without continuo. We ended up playing around 15 instruments including two on loan from the Benslow Instrument Loan Scheme which had belonged to my late teacher Alan Davis. That was very special and working with Rachel was a complete joy and education.

It's not very original, but I genuinely love introducing the recorder to new audiences and sharing some of the extraordinary music it has inspired over so many centuries.

Q: What are some of your favourite recorders and makers?

I don’t really have preferred makers or manufacturers. I just try to find the best instruments for the job at hand. My most treasured instrument is a voice flute by Fred Morgan which is incredibly special. At the other end of the spectrum, I have a first generation Eagle alto recorder which has been a game changer working with contemporary groups. I’m a huge fan of the Mollenhauer G alto and have found it one of the most flexible and versatile instruments for any occasion.

My Küng Superio Bass is probably the instrument that audiences, composers and arrangers are most drawn to. I’ve used it for everything from Ravel’s Bolero to Scottish folk music and even in a composition of my own….

My curio choice is a very rare descant in D by Michael Dawson. I use this for transcriptions but also for work with Paraorchestra and RNS Moves where I want something more ambiguous and folky than a descant and less shrill than a sopranino.

Q: You are very open about being a blind musician. Could you tell us about how that has shaped your musical journey?

It’s difficult to say because I’ve no way of knowing how things might have turned out had I been able to see. I may have followed my childhood dream of being a train driver!

It would be easy to focus on what I’ve not been able to do, but that would be to overlook some of the incredible opportunities that being a visually impaired musician has brought me.

My experience over the past 30 years is that seeing a blind performer play from memory can be hugely impactful for an audience but I’ve never wanted to make that my focus. I’ve worked really hard to find ways of presenting on stage and engaging with audiences in a way that keeps the music front and centre.

Q: Your website has some interesting articles about memorising music and you have a phenomenally wide repertoire. What’s been your approach to this challenge and do you have any advice for others trying to play from memory?

I’m by no means the only recorder player to play from memory, but what is different for me is that I cannot play a piece until I have learnt it. So for me the process is more forensic and analytical at first and involves a lot of reading, whistling, playing and reading again. I like to learn from braille and audio if at all possible. The biggest frustration is that whatever I have memorised in the past, every gig seems to require something new!

Playing without notes is as much a mental process as a musical one, so my advice would be to start with something that is already familiar and build up confidence.

A huge thank you to James for giving such in-depth and insightful answers – keep up-to-date with James' projects by clicking here to visit his website.

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REMINDER! Our Bestselling Recorders promotion continues all weekend. Click here, or on the image below, to explore the full collection now – with exclusive prices available only until Sunday 9 August 23:59PT. 

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Today's Sound of Recorder Music section features the Küng Superio Alto, in Olivewood. 

Olivewood’s exceptional density gives this Superio alto a deeply resonant, rich, and earthy sound profile. As you listen to the clip, note the strong, grounded fundamental in the lowest octave—a distinctive feature of Küng's bore design—complemented by a warm, velvety sweetness in the upper register. It balances bold projection with a soft, complex tonal palette that unfolds beautifully in solo lines. Check out the audio clips below or follow this link to find out more about this instrument.

Listen to this recorder! 

Bach Sarabande:

Vivaldi La Notte:

Scale: