James Howard Young (1975 – ) is an American multi-instrumentalist living in Denmark. He is currently employed as organist at Lumby and Stige Churches. As a performer of both improvisatory and standard repertoire, he worked as a pianist with the Royal Danish Theater’s Ballet School for over a decade. James is also a freelance Recorder player and teacher who has taught children and teens at the music schools of Faaborg, Assens and Ringe (Denmark) and who has instructed Recorder technique and ensembles for adults at Amherst Early Music summer workshop, Long Island Recorder Festival, Mideast Early Music Workshop and with the Boston Recorder Society among others.
James received his Bachelor of Music with honors in Clarinet from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in 1997. Further studies at New England Conservatory led to a Master’s degree with high honors in 1999 in Historical Performance with Recorder as a major. He was awarded a Frank Huntington Beebe grant for study abroad, leading to a second Master’s degree in Recorder with a focus on interactive computer performance from the Danish National Academy of Music through their pioneering Musician-Performer track. While studying in Denmark, James was a fellow of the American-Scandinavian Foundation. Upon graduation he received a grant from the Bikuben Foundation for his work with interactive computer performance and improvisation. His principal Recorder teachers were Aldo Abreu, Dan Laurin, and Nikolaj Ronimus while his Clarinet teachers included Steven Barta, Thomas Hill, and Eric Thomas.
James Howard Young has performed extensively on historical and modern wind instruments both as a soloist and chamber musician with ensembles such as New York City Opera, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Zimmermann and Patchworks Recorder trio. His popular arrangements for Recorder can be downloaded at RecorderDots and his various software is available for purchase on Apple’s App Store.