James Howard Young (1975 – ) is an American multi-instrumentalist renowned for his versatility and contributions to both early and contemporary music scenes. Currently residing in Denmark, he holds the position of organist and choir director at Lumby and Stige Churches.
James began his musical journey with the clarinet, earning a Bachelor of Music from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in 1997. He furthered his studies at New England Conservatory, obtaining a Master’s degree in Historical Performance, focusing on the recorder, in 1999. Upon graduating, he was inducted into Phi Kappa Lambda, an international honor society recognizing academic achievement in the field of music. James received a second Master’s degree in recorder with an emphasis on interactive computer performance at the Danish National Academy of Music, supported by a Frank Huntington Beebe grant and a fellowship from the American-Scandinavian Foundation.
James has an extensive background in dance accompaniment, having served as a ballet pianist with the Royal Danish Theater’s ballet school in Odense for over a decade before transitioning to full-time church musician in 2018.
As a dedicated educator, James has taught recorder at the music schools of Faaborg, Assens, and Ringe in Denmark. He has also instructed recorder technique and ensembles at workshops such as Amherst Early Music, Long Island Recorder Festival, Mideast Early Music Workshop, and with the Boston Recorder Society.
James has several applications available on Apple’s App Store such as TapNTempo, a flexible metronome with customizable sounds; TapNTune, a combination metronome and tuner for macOS; PitchNSpeed, which allows users to change the pitch and speed of sound files in various formats; and Telemannator, enabling users to play canons with themselves.
In recent years, James has focused on the online performance space through his popular YouTube and Facebook channels. His YouTube channel features multitrack classical music, primarily arrangements of Bach orchestral works for recorder, among other composers and instruments. His Facebook page has garnered a significant following, offering a modern take on historically informed performance.
James also manages RecorderDots.com, a platform offering custom scores and parts for recorder players. The site provides an extensive library of original arrangements, complete with scores, parts, and online playalongs at various speeds.