James Swearingen

{{short description|American composer and arranger (born 1945)}}

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{{Infobox musical artist|

| name = James Swearingen

| image = James Swearingen.jpg

| caption =

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| background = non_performing_personnel

| instrument =

| genre =

| occupation = Composer

| years_active = 1947-Present

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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|09|26}}

| birth_place = Dayton, Ohio

}}

James Swearingen (born 1947) is an American composer and arranger. He holds a Master’s 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 played in 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 several ASCAP awards.

Biography

James Swearingen is currently one of several resident composers at Capital University{{cite web|url=http://www.capital.edu/readingclinic/|title=Capital University Band Festival - Capital University|website=www.capital.edu}} and is also a staff arranger for the Ohio State University Marching Band.{{cite web|url=https://tbdbitl.osu.edu/people/arrangers|title=Arrangers|date=28 July 2015|publisher=}} 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 was in Sunbury, Ohio. He then spent fourteen years as Director of Instrumental Music at Grove City High School, teaching marching, concert and jazz bands.

Swearingen is also a guest conductor,{{cite web|url=https://www.midwestclinic.org/user_files_1/pdfs/clinicianmaterials/2006/robert_jorgensen.pdf |title=Data |website=www.midwestclinic.org }} adjudicator{{cite web|url=https://festival.worldsoffun.com/public/adjudicators.cfm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120115031918/http://festival.worldsoffun.com/public/adjudicators.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 15, 2012|title=Festival of Music - Worlds of Fun|website=festival.worldsoffun.com}}{{cite web|url=https://music.carowinds.com/public/adjudicators.cfm |title=Adjudicators |publisher=Music.carowinds.com |date=2005-09-01 |accessdate=2018-06-28}} and educational clinician{{cite web |url=https://coloradobandmasters.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2007-Program.pdf |title=Program |date=2014 |website=coloradobandmasters.org |access-date=2018-03-11 |archive-date=2016-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609233225/http://coloradobandmasters.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2007-Program.pdf |url-status=dead }} in the US and internationally. He has travelled throughout the United States, Japan, Australia, Europe, Canada and The Republic of China.

With over 600 published works, he has written band compositions and arrangements in a variety of musical forms and styles.{{cite web|url=http://www.barnhouse.com/composers.php?id=183|title=James Swearingen - Our Composers - C. L. Barnhouse Company|website=www.barnhouse.com|access-date=2006-08-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070220065902/http://www.barnhouse.com/composers.php?id=183|archive-date=2007-02-20|url-status=dead}} Many of his pieces, including 81 commissioned works, have been chosen for contest{{which|date=December 2016}} and festival{{cite web|url=https://prezi.com/lugd3eppq0di/james-swearingen/|title=James Swearingen|website=prezi.com}}{{cite web|url=http://www.msbandmasters.com/2017%20Spring%20Festival/2017%20Concert%20Evaluation%20Ratings%20and%20Programs%20-%20NORTH.pdf |title=Review |date=2017 |website=www.msbandmasters.com }} lists. He is a recipient of several ASCAP awards{{which|date=December 2016}} for published compositions and in 1992 was selected as an Accomplished Graduate of the Fine and Performing Arts from Bowling Green State University. Most recently, he received the 2002 Community Music Educator Award given annually by the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. He is a member of the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA), MENC: The National Association for Music Education, American School Band Directors Association (ASBDA), Phi Beta Mu, Pi Kappa Lambda, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. In March 2000, he was invited to join the American Bandmasters Association.

Recordings

Several of Swearingen's band compositions have been recorded by The Washington Winds and are available on compact discs from Walking Frog Records. His recordings include In All Its Glory, Exaltation, Panther in the Sky, Celebration For Winds And Percussion, The Light Of Dawn, and the newest release, Flight of Valor.{{Cite web |last=Freireich |first=Gordon |title=138 years … and the Brodbecks Band plays on |url=https://www.ydr.com/story/opinion/columnists/2016/08/30/138-years-and-brodbecks-band-plays/89592740/ |access-date=2024-06-16 |website=York Daily Record |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=James Swearingen |url=https://www.rundel.de/en/person/james_swearingen/1314 |website=Rundel}}

Grading Scale

According to Swearingen's web site, he grades the difficulty of performing his compositions using the following scale:{{Cite web |url=http://www.jamesswearingen.com/works1.html |title=James Swearingen.com |access-date=2009-07-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815104712/http://www.jamesswearingen.com/works1.html |archive-date=2009-08-15 |url-status=dead }}

  • 1 - Easy (for first year beginning bands)
  • 2 - Medium Easy (for second and third year bands)
  • 3 - Medium (for intermediate or early high school bands)
  • 4 - Medium Difficult (for most high school bands)

References

{{Reflist}}