James Allen Anderson

Heralded as a musician “destined to make his mark” on the classical music scene, Maestro James Allen Anderson is a singular conductor who balances imaginative performances, innovative programming, and effortless communication skills that appeal to all audience members. A dedicated orchestra builder, he is credited with the remarkable growth of the organizations under his leadership.  Renowned for his versatility and impressive grasp of multiple musical genres, Maestro Anderson has distinguished himself equally in the fields of symphonic, pops, contemporary, opera, and Broadway performances.

As a stage conductor, Maestro Anderson has led productions of Carmen, Cosi fan tutte, L'elisir d’amore, Die Fledermaus, The Medium, The Pirates of Penzance, Street Scene, Sweeney Todd, The Telephone, and West Side Story.  He made his ballet conducting debut with the North Carolina Dance Theatre in three acclaimed performances of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.  As a guest conductor, he has performed with orchestras in Asia, Europe, and North America.

He has joined forces with guest artists such as Liang Chai, Shu-Chuan Cheng, Pamela Frank, Martin Hodel, Dan Kamin, Anthony Kitai, Peter Kurau, Marina Lomazov, Matt Palmer, Allen Vizzutti, and Abram Wilson.  He has also worked with notable singers including Elisa Cordova, Max von Essen, Julie Foldesi, Randolph Locke, Eugene Perry, Pamela South, and Carol Sparrow.

Maestro Anderson has collaborated on contemporary music projects with celebrated composers such as Michael Daugherty, Libby Larsen, David Liptak, Robert Moore, Christopher Rouse, Joseph Schwantner, and Augusta Read Thomas.  Recent world premieres include the revised version of the Overture in Praise of Folly by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer George Walker, Daniel Bukvich’s The Glittering Hill, and David Maslanka’s 11:11 A Dance at the Edge of the World,  Symphony No. 6 “Living Earth”, and  A Child's Garden of Dreams: Book 2.

Video and audio performances featuring Maestro Anderson on the podium include two Montana PBS presentations of the 2000 & 2001 Montana Summer Symphony concerts, the UNC-TV specials An Appalachian Showcase and Holiday Sounds from Appalachian, as well as recordings available through iTunes, Albany Records, and Bookpeople of Moscow, Inc.

Anderson has held positions with the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra, Eastman Philharmonia, the Eastman Opera Theatre, Theater on the Ridge (NY), Triangle Opera (NC), Pauper Players (NC), University of Montana Symphony Orchestra and Opera Theater, the Missoula Children's Theatre, Cannon Music Summer Festival, and Appalachian State University’s Opera Theater.  He has served as cover conductor for the North Carolina Symphony, Music Director of the Butte Symphony Association, and Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Montana.  In the fall of 2002, he became the Director of Orchestral Activities at the distinguished Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.  He remains committed to a variety of outreach projects and is a frequent adjudicator and clinician on the state, regional and national levels.

Maestro Anderson received his formal training as conductor and pianist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York.  His principal conducting mentors have included David Effron, Mark Gibson, Tonu Kalam, Pierre Hétu, and Otto Werner-Mueller, with studies in piano under Michael Zenge and Francis Whang.

Maestro Anderson’s honors include the Mariam Cannon Hayes School of Music Outstanding Teaching Award, participant in the American Symphony Orchestra League’s National Conductor Preview with the Jacksonville Symphony (FL), and Third-Round diploma laureate and major prize winner in the inaugural Vakhtang Jordania/New Millennium International Conducting Competition in Kharkov, Ukraine.  He currently serves  as President-Elect on the Board of Directors of the Conductors Guild, the only international music service organization devoted exclusively to the advancement of the art of conducting and to serving the artistic and professional needs of conductors.

He lives in North Carolina with his wife Davina and their children, Mitchell, Hannah, Savannah, and Samuel.

"Ovation after ovation rang from the standing audience, growing louder and louder as the leading ballerinas came forward. But when the conductor was led onto the stage, the roar rivaled that of the music he had led."

- Kate Dobbs Ariail, Classical Voice of North Carolina

"Destined to make his mark in a highly competitive field in which many are called but few are chosen."

- John W. Lambert, The Spectator

“James Anderson is a talented conductor, with an excellent sense of timing and a flair for the dramatic elements in the music he is conducting.”

- Peter Perret, Classical Voice of North Carolina