James Ogburn

Biography

James J. Ogburn (b. 1974) is a US-born composer, conductor, author, and teacher. Raised in the Wenatchee Valley of Eastern Washington State, he first pursued degrees in foreign languages and creative writing, then worked as a counselor with emotionally disturbed children before re-enrolling at university to pursue a career in music. James’s works reflect his abundant experiences living and traveling throughout the US and abroad. Guided by narrativity and humanist impulses, his compositions exhibit profound emotion tempered with undercurrents of intellectual complexity and experimentation.

Dr. Ogburn received Composition & Theory degrees from Central Washington University (B.M., 2004), and the University of Pittsburgh (M.A., 2006 & Ph.D., 2009), before moving to Bangkok, Thailand, where he was Chair of Composition and Theory at Mahidol University College of Music (2009–2015). Since 2015, he has taught at the Schwob School of Music of Columbus State University, where he is currently Professor of Composition and Theory.

For more information and to hear his music, please go to www.jamesogburn.com.