Dr. James Charles Woodward
“ [ Tuba Concerto is ] a Tour de force...This is a great piece! Thanks Woodward!”
- Sergio Carolina, Tuba News
"With expressive lines and interesting harmonies throughout, this expertly scored piece will be a memorable addition to any concert program."
-John Thompson, The Instrumentalist
Biography
As a Professor of Music Theory and Composition at Jacksonville State University, Director of Vintage Sweater Records and the JSU Mason Hall Recording Studio, and award winning author, Dr. James Woodward has written and performed in concerts, films, commissions, and musicals. He was the recipient of the 2012 Alabama Music Teachers Association Composer of the Year, the 2006 BMI Pete Carpenter Film Scoring Fellowship, the 2007 Kappa Kappa Psi Alpha Beta Chapter Commission Competition, a Meet the Composer Grant, and a Fellowship at the Virginia Arts Festival John Duffy Composers Institute. His concert works are published by Daehn Publications, GIA Publications, and Cimarron Music Press. Recordings of his works are available on Vintage Sweater Records, Cedille Records, Mark Records, and Baer Tracks Music.
Established in 2017, Vintage Sweater Records is the creative and production branch of the Jacksonville State University Mason Hall Recording Studio directed by James Woodward. While producing independent, creative projects focusing especially on new, instrumental tracks, VSR provides recording and educational services for JSU faculty, students, and staff. Vintage Sweater Records is the home of "Eryn Oft: Out of the Box" featuring world music arranged for the bassoon in many styles and "The Geometrical Fascinations of an Impaired Gentleman", a spoken word album and short, animated film.
An Opal level Youtuber, James Woodward founded and manages the Aural Skills Guru Youtube Channel. With over 600 videos of helpful videos for aural skills students, the channel is now well over 1 million minutes watched.
As a concert pianist and frequent organist, Dr. James Woodward has performed in many recitals and concerts including guest soloist appearances with the Classics Philharmonic and the Georgia Symphony Orchestra performing his children's work When Rebecca Woogie Came to Town and his Piano Concerto, Downey's Groove. He also often appears in concert with his ukulele and regularly performs with the Gadsden Symphony Orchestra on Double Bass.
As a composer for musicals, James has collaborated with playwrights Melanie Martin Long and April-Dawn Gladu to create two children's musicals at the Georgia Shakespeare Company, The Frog Prince (text and lyrics by Melanie Martin Long) and The Emperor and the Nightingale (text and lyrics by April-Dawn Gladu).
Dr. James Woodward received his degrees from Arizona State University, University of Southern California, and the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. His principal composition teachers were Stephen Hartke, Jody Rockmaker, John Downey, and Ronald Foster.