Education
James holds degrees in Composition and Theory from Central Washington University (BM) and the University of Pittsburgh (MA & PHD). He studied with Matthew Rosenblum, Eric Moe, Amy Williams, Roger Zahab, Eric Flesher, Marek Choloniewski, Woijcek Widlak, David Asplin, and Mark Polishook. As a masterclass participant, he has worked with Derek Bermel, Robert Beaser, Betsy Jolas, Daron Hagen, Harold Meltzer, John Eaton, David Felder, Charles Wuorinen, Roger Reynolds, John Harbison, Paul Moravec, Christopher Theofanidis, David Maslanka, Eve Beglarian, Alan Shockley, and Karim Al-Zand.