Chalmers was born in west London to musical parents, and sang as a chorister while attending
Tewkesbury Abbey School. At the
University of Oxford, he continued as a music student, before continuing to study conducting at Conservatorio di Musica di Piacenza. Initially his principal focus was church music. He held an organ scholarship at Chichester Cathedral, and went on to become assistant organist and Director of Music of the Choir School at Westminster Abbey between 2003 and 2008. He also became Organist and Director of Music at
St Jude's Church, Hampstead Garden Suburb in 2003, celebrating twenty years in the role in 2023. An interest in stage performance led Chalmers to found a performance company in 2004, Second Movement, together with a university friend
Oliver Mears and Abigail Toland. From 2008 until 2011 Chalmers was assistant chorus master of
English National Opera, preparing opera repertoire alongside then-music director
Edward Gardner, and guest conductors including
Mark Wigglesworth and
Sir Charles Mackerras. From 2010 he also began conducting operatic performances at
Northern Ireland Opera in Belfast and other locations. In 2012, Chalmers was engaged by
David Ross of
Carphone Warehouse to found an opera company at
Nevill Holt Hall. The
Nevill Holt Opera company began performances in 2013. Under Chalmers' direction, the company opened a new 400-seat theatre on the site in 2018, and gave an award-winning outdoor production of Britten’s
Noye’s Fludde in 2017. Chalmers held the role of music director of the company until his resignation in 2023, citing a desire to move on to new challenges. His resignation coincided with the company's announcement that it would cut back its 2023 programme due to insufficient ticket sales. In his resignation statement, Chalmers clarified that although he had played no part in the decision to make cutbacks, the decision was separate from his resignation. The opera company rebranded itself as the
Nevill Holt Festival in 2024. Chalmers made his
BBC Proms conducting debut in 2020 with the
BBC Singers. This was followed by further broadcasts and concerts with the group, including developing a relationship between the choir and youth choral groups in Stratford East. He was appointed as the BBC Singers' associate conductor for learning in June 2023. This was followed by an appointment in September 2023 as Principal Conductor of the
National Youth Choir's 18-25 year group, taking over from
Ben Parry. Chalmers is a Senior Associate Artist of the
Royal Opera House, where he will make his conducting debut in autumn 2024. He is scheduled to take up the role of Fernside Chair of Choral Conducting at The Royal Academy of Music from September 2024. ==References==