James Swearingen

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James Swearingen

James Swearingen is an American composer and arranger. He is currently the department chair of music education at Capital University, and holds a Masters Degree from Ohio State University and a Bachelors Degree from Bowling Green State University.

The music he writes is part of a small genre known throughout American high school band classes as "Concert Literature"; these tend to be five through six minute long pieces played for high school band concerts. He is a recipient of numerous ASCAP awards, his trend-setting compositions and arrangements have a style and energy that are truly exceptional.

[edit] Biography

James Swearingen's talents as a performer, composer/arranger and educator include a background of extensive training and experience. He has earned degrees from Bowling Green State University and The Ohio State University. Mr. Swearingen is currently Professor of Music, Department Chair of Music Education and one of several resident composers at Capital University located in Columbus, Ohio. He also serves as a staff arranger for the famed Ohio State University Marching Band. Prior to his appointment at Capital in 1987, he spent eighteen years teaching instrumental music in the public schools of central Ohio. His first teaching assignment took him to the community of Sunbury, Ohio. He then spent fourteen years as Director of Instrumental Music at Grove City High School where his marching, concert and jazz bands all received acclaim for their high standards of performing excellence.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Mr. Swearingen manages to be very active as a guest conductor, adjudicator and educational clinician. Appearances have included trips throughout the United States, as well as Japan, Australia, Europe, Canada and The Republic of China.

Mr. Swearingen's numerous contributions for band have been enthusiastically received by school directors, student performers and audiences worldwide. With over 400 published works, he has written band compositions and arrangements that reflect a variety of musical forms and styles. Many of his pieces, including 76 commissioned works, have been chosen for contest and festival lists. He is a recipient of several ASCAP awards for published compositions and in 1992 was selected as an Accomplished Graduate of the Fine and Performing Arts from Bowling Green State University. Most recently, Mr. Swearingen received the 2002 Community Music Educator Award given annually by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of numerous professional and honorary organizations including OMEA, MENC, ASBDA, Phi Beta Mu and Pi Kappa Lambda. In March of 2000, he was invited to join The American Bandmasters Association, considered to be the most prestigious bandmaster organization in the world.

Many of Mr. Swearingen's most popular band compositions have been recorded by the prestigious Washington Winds and are available on Walking Frog Records compact discs: His recordings include In All Its Glory, Exaltation, Celebration For Winds And Percussion, The Light Of Dawn, and the newest release, Flight of Valor.