James Ogburn (b. 1974) grew up in Washington state. After completing a B.M. in Composition and Theory (2004) at Central Washington University, he moved to Pittsburgh, Pa where he received a Master of Arts (2006) and a Ph.D.(2009) in Composition and Theory from the University of Pittsburgh. He studied composition 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 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.
Dr. Ogburn’s works have been recorded, performed, and publicly read throughout Europe, the U.S., and Asia by such ensembles as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the American Composers Orchestra, the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, red fish blue fish percussion ensemble, IonSound Project, ALIA MUSICA Pittsburgh, Flux Quartet, the Ying Quartet, the Krakow Academy Quartet, and many more. His music has been featured in national, regional, and international festivals, including June in Buffalo, ACO/Penn Presents New Music Readings and Lab, the Inaugural Asian Double Reed Association Conference, the Sixth Thailand International Composition Festival, the Fifth Annual Thailand Brass and Percussion Festival, the 2004 SCI National Student Conference, the Krakow Academy SME Thirty Year Anniversary Gala, and the U3 Festival. Dr. Ogburn has been commissioned by the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mahidol Wind Symphony, the Central Washington University Orchestra, Maria Aispuro, Clifford Dunn, Shyen Lee, the Old Pros Trombone Choir, Danny Keasler, ALIA MUSICA Pittsburgh, and numerous other performers and ensembles.
As Assistant Conductor of the University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (2005-6), Assistant Conductor (and founding member) of ALIA MUSICA Pittsburgh (2006-9), then creator and principal conductor of Contemporary Enclave (2009-present) and the Mahidol University Contemporary Music Ensemble (2009-present), James has spent the past seven years regularly performing contemporary music and standard repertoire. As a guest conductor, he has performed at international festivals, including the 2011 Thailand Brass and Percussion Conference, the 2011 Yamaha-Tubamania Conference, and the Inaugural Asian Double Reed Association Conference. He has conducted many established groups, including IonSound Project, the E-tan tuba quartet (feat. Steve Rosse and Matthew Van Emerick), the Old Pros Trombone Choir, the Central Washington University Orchestra, and the Central Washington University Chorale. He has conducted world premieres of works by Nancy Galbraith, Houston Dunleavy, Roger Zahab, Gregory Van der Struik, Benjamin Harris, Erica Kudisch, and John Charles Durham, and regional premieres of works by Joan Tower, Ivan Jimenez, Kerrith Livengood, Federico Garcia, and numerous others.
Over the past six years, Dr. Ogburn has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate courses in music theory, analysis, aural skills, composition, ensembles, electro-acoustic music, orchestration, and counterpoint. From 2005 – 2008 he received a teaching fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2009, he was the composition studio instructor for the Carnegie Mellon University Pre-College Program. Currently, Dr. Ogburn is Chair of Composition and Theory at the Mahidol University College of Music in Bangkok, Thailand. For his observations as a conductor, performer, and composer, James has adjudicated the small ensembles class of the 2010 Thailand International Wind Ensemble Competition and the first round of the 2010 Young Thai Artist Award. In upcoming months, he will adjudicate the final round of the 2011 Young Thai Artist Award and the 2012 Thailand International Composition Festival, for which he will also serve as host.
The subject of Dr. Ogburn's dissertation, entitled "Conflicting Lines, Cohesive Structures: Multiple-Directed Linearity in Witold Lutoslawski’s Third Symphony," has been presented at conferences in Pittsburgh and Fairfax, VA. Currently, he is completing an article on the piano music of Gyorgy Ligeti, entitled "Contour Patterns in Gyorgy Ligeti's Musica Ricercata and Etudes for solo piano." For his research in musical analysis and theory, Dr. Ogburn has received grants from the K. Leroy Irvis Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the McNair Scholars Program, the Dean of Arts and Humanities of Central Washington University, and the Mahidol University College of Music.
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