James M. Bohn

Biography

James Bohn is a composer and music technology specialist. His music has been performed internationally as well as throughout the United States. He has had his music presented at the Bonk Festival, CYNETart, the Electronic Rainbow Coalition, the extensible Toy Piano Festival, the Florida Electro-Acoustic Music Festival, the La Crosse New Music Festival, the MAXIS festival of Sound and Experimental Music, MEDiA CIRCU[it]S, Most Significant Bytes, The Not Still Art Festival, the University of Alabama New Music Festival, and the University of Central Missouri New Music Festival, His music appears on several recording labels: Capstone, The Experimental Music Studios, Frog Peak, and The Media Cafe. James has received commissions from the Bonk Festival, the University of Illinois School of Music, The College of Visual and Performing Arts at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, The Music Institute at Rhode Island College Choir, Part of the Oath Dance Ensemble, The Rhode Island College Choir, The Rhode Island College Wind Ensemble, and the Boston and Chicago Chapter of the American Composer's Forum.

As a scholar, James has given papers at conferences for the American Musical Instrument Society, the Association for Technology in Music Instruction, Technological Directions in Music Learning, the MAXIS festival, and the American Chemical Society. His book on Lejaren Hiller (the first composer to write a piece of music using a computer) is published by Edwin Mellen Press.

Education

• BM (honors): University of Wisconsin
• MM: University of Illinois
• DMA: University of Illinois

Accomplishments

• ASCAP Standard Award - 1997-2015.
• Received a commission from the 2013 MIRIC Concert Choir for the creation of "Der Vampir" ($500) – 2013.
• Received a commission from the Rhode Island College Wind Ensemble for the creation of "Felix Dines and Pines" ($2,000) - 2012.
• Received a commission from the Rhode Island College Choir for the creation of "Metropolis: The Oratorio" ($6,000) - 2011.
• Vice President, Board of Directors, Newport Baroque Orchestra 2006-2008.
• Guest Artist "Most Significant Bytes" 2002, Alliance, OH
• Guest Artist "7-11 Festival" 2001, Urbana, IL
• Appeared as guest composer on "Kalvos & Damian's New Music Bazzar", a radio show devoted to New Music, WGDR, Plainfield, VT (August 21st, 1999).
• "tOiZe" for 3 toy pianos and CD audio Bonk Emerging Artist Commission, Tampa, FL (2003).
• Received a commission from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Dean's Discressionary Professional Development fund towards the creation of "Hardguy" for Trumpet, and Digital Video and Sound ($400) - 2001.
• "How was it we were caught?" an oratorio for mixed choir, soloists, and piano commissioned by the Boston Chapter of the American Composers Forum ($1000) - 2001.
• "Permutations for Orchestra" commissioned by the Chicago Chapter of the American Composers Forum ($500) - 1998.
• "Fugue" for String Quartet read by Kronos Quartet (1996).
• "Dona Nobis Pacem" presented at the Midwest Composers' Symposium (1996).
• "Implosion" for Vibraphone and Computer-Generated Tape commissioned by the University of Illinois School of Music and Professor Scott Wyatt in Honor of the Centennial of the School of Music (1995).
• Included on the Incomplete List of Teachers as Ranked by Their Students at the University of Illinois, Fall Semester 1995.
• Received an "outstanding" rating on the Incomplete List of Teachers as Ranked by Their Students at the University of Illinois, Spring Semester 1994.

Research Interests

• Film Music
• Music for Animation
• New Music