James Swearingen Biography

James Swearingen is an American composer and arranger. He is currently the department chair of music education at Capital University, and holds a Masters Degree from Ohio State University and a Bachelors Degree from Bowling Green State University.

The music he writes is part of a small genre known throughout American high school band classes as "Concert Literature"; these tend to be five through six minute long pieces played for high school band concerts. He is a recipient of numerous ASCAP awards, his trend-setting compositions and arrangements have a style and energy that are truly exceptional.

He serves as a staff arranger for the famed 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.