James Swearingen

James Swearingen is an American composer and arranger. He holds a Masters Degree from the Ohio State University and a Bachelor's degree from Bowling Green State University and is Professor of Music Emeritus, Department Chair of Music Education at Capital University, Columbus, Ohio.

The music he writes is part of a small genre known throughout American high school band classes as Concert Literature, generally two- to six-minute-long pieces played for high school band concerts. He is a recipient of numerous ASCAP awards.

Biography

He is currently one of several resident composers at Capital University and also serves as a staff manager for The 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.