Jody James (née Butler) grew up in Norfolk and read Music at the University of East Anglia. She studied conducting with Peter Aston and Sharon Andrea Choa and was awarded the university’s Mozart Performance Scholarship in support of her singing studies. She graduated in 2003 with First Class Honours.

Jody is Director of Music at the Church of St Peter Mancroft in the heart of Norwich. Here she has developed a thriving music department, providing music of a high standard for worship and offering opportunities for children and adults to improve their musical skills. She has also established an admission free recital series which is a popular fixture in the musical life of the region.

In 2014 Jody was a finalist in the Norfolk Arts Awards EDP People’s Choice Award for Best Independent/Solo Artist. She also took up an invitation to adjudicate the annual singing festival at St Stephen’s Cathedral Nairobi, which is attended by singers from across Kenya and Uganda. She travelled to Budapest in 2017 to spend time studying Hungary’s highly respected Early Years Music Education.

In 2018 the Royal School of Church Music awarded Jody its Certificate of Special Service in recognition of her contribution to church music, stating that her ‘galvanising influence, flair and professional musical skills ... enrich the musical life of Norwich’.

Jody’s connection with Viva Voce Singers goes back many years. Having sung soprano with the choir as a teenager she was delighted to return in 2005 as Musical Director.