James Wood is known for his wide-ranging activities as composer and conductor and for a close association with a broad spectrum of music from the middle ages to the present day. In 1981 he founded the highly acclaimed New London Chamber Choir, of which he was principal conductor for over twenty-five years. He has recorded over twenty-five CDs.

During the last decade he has worked regularly with the Netherlands Radio Choir, RundfunkChor Berlin, RIAS Kammerchor, SWR Vokalensemble, Champ d’Action and musikFabrik, and is also in demand as guest conductor from many ensembles, choirs and orchestras throughout Europe. James Wood has enjoyed close working relationships with many distinguished composers such as Iannis Xenakis, Mauricio Kagel, Kaija Saariaho, György Kurtág, Alejandro Viñao, Steve Reich, Jonathan Harvey and Karlheinz Stockhausen.

As a composer his interests have led to a wide range of works for almost every conceivable genre. He has realized commissions from such diverse sources as the Arditti Quartet, IRCAM, the ARD, Percussions de Strasbourg and the BBC Proms. Major works include Séance (1996) for soprano, mixed choir, MIDIvibraphone and electronics; Jodo (1999) for soprano, percussion solo and electronics; Autumn Voices (2001) for violin and electronics; and the opera Hildegard.

Major awards include the 1993 Gemini Fellowship, the 1995/6 Arts Foundation Fellowship for electro-acoustic composition, and a Holst Foundation Award.