JAMES SWEARINGEN, Composer/Educator (7-22-22)

JAMES SWEARINGEN, one of the best, most prolific, most heard, and most played composers of concert band music EVER, will join us to discuss his career; including starting on the accordion, taking up percussion, becoming a high school band director, writing and arranging music for his own students, and then arranging and composing music for bands all over the world! In addition, Mr. Swearingen will talk about his long time music arranging affiliation with the Ohio State Marching Band - one of the best college marching bands in the world! - and how he still produces the music for one halftime show per year. 

FROM THE C.L. BARNHOUSE MUSIC PUBLISHING WEBSITE:

James Swearingen’s talents as a performer, composer/arranger and educator reflects a background of extensive training and experience. He has earned degrees from Bowling Green State University and The Ohio State University. In recognition of distinguished contributions, Mr. Swearingen was recently accorded the title of Professor Emeritus from Capital University located in Columbus, Ohio. 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.

Mr. Swearingen currently serves as a staff arranger for the famed Ohio State University Marching Band. In addition to his arranging 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 Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, Norway, and Singapore. 

School directors, student performers and audiences worldwide have enthusiastically received Mr. Swearingen’s numerous contributions for band. With just over 700 published works, he has written band compositions and arrangements that reflect a variety of musical forms and styles. Many of his pieces, including 125 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. In March of 2000, he was invited to join The American Bandmasters Association, considered to be the most prestigious bandmaster organization in the world. Mr. Swearingen received the 2002 Community Music Educator Award given annually by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. In that same year, he became conductor of the Grove City Community Winds. This highly talented ensemble consists of many fine musicians from the central Ohio area. On June 20, 2009, The American School Band Directors Association, Inc., presented Mr. Swearingen with the A. Austin Harding Award. This prestigious award is presented annually by the organization and is reflective of valuable and dedicated service to the school bands of America. In 2011, he received the Hall of Fame Award presented by the Ohio Chapter (Mu) of Phi Beta Mu. The OMEA Distinguished Service Award was presented to him at the 2014 OMEA Professional Development Conference. On April 21, 2015, The Ohio State School of Music honored Mr. Swearingen with their Distinguished Alumnus Award. In the fall of 2021, The Vandalia Butler High School Alumni Association honored him, along with three others, as inductees in the newly formed Hall of Achievement. And on January 1, 2022, Mr. Swearingen was designated as one of five distinguished teachers to represent music instructors throughout the United States in the widely viewed Tournament of Roses Parade.

barnhouse.com/composer/james-swearingen/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Swearingen