Chairman of the Department of Music and Professor of Music at Jackson State University. He received the B.M.E. degree from Jackson State University where he was the first tuba major, graduating cum laude; the M.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Southern Mississippi where he was the first African-American to received that degree. At JSU, he has served as Director of Musical Activities, Coordinator of the Graduate Music Program, Director of the Concert Band, Assistant Band Director and Director of the Brass Ensemble. A very versatile person, he serves as the Voice of the Sonic Boom of the South, the University's Marching Band.. He was honored by theUniversity by being named to deliver the 1992 Summer Commencement Address. He is married to the former Carrie Green, a retired educator or Ruleville and they are the parents of one son, Michael Renwick of Dallas, TX.
Dr. James is the first Connectional Director of Music for the A.M.E.Church and presently serves as Director of Music Emeritus and Historiographer Prior to being employed at J.S.U., he served as band director and junior high school English teacher at Travillion Attendance Center in Hattiesburg. He is the author of two books, Organizing and Administering the A.M.E. Church Music Program and Organizing the Church Music Ministry for the 21st Century; co-author of the book, Praising God with Instruments; and a contributor to the book, Methods and Perspectives of Urban Music Education. He and his brothers, Arthur and Robert, are co-authors of abook entitled The Mississippi Black Bankers and Their Institutions.
Dr. James is a contributor to Songs of Praise, a song book published by the A.M.E. Church. His original praise song, Praise Ye The Lord, is included in this publication and can be heard on JSU's new CD. He serves as Director of the highly successful Annual Church MusicWorkshop sponsored by J.S.U. and the Eighth Episcopal District of the A.M.E. Church. The 32nd Annual Church MusicWorkshop of America will be held June 16-19, 2008. He served as a member of the Commission that organized the AME Bicentennial Hymnal. Presently, he is Minister of Music, Director of the Sanctuary Choir and a member of the Steward Board of Pearl Street A.M.E. Church in Jackson.
He is a former member of the General Board of the AME Church. A member and former National Talent Hunt Director of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, he has been named Omega Man of the Year on the Local and District levels. He was recently presented the Seventh District Superior Service Award for his work on the local, district and national levels. He is Past Sire Archon of Beta Gamma Boule of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity. He is a member of the Jackson Redevelopment Board of Commissioners and was recently inducted into Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Music Fraternity. He was honored recently by P.A.C.E. Head Start as a role model for young black youth in his hometown of Hattiesburg. He also received the Drum Major for Justice Award during the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Awards Celebration in Jackson.
