James V Conn
James V. Conn is a composer, teacher, arranger and performer on alto saxophone and pianoforte.
James V. Conn is a composer, teacher, arranger and performer on alto saxophone and pianoforte. He was born in Glasgow in 1965 and studied music at Napier College Department of Music (1983-86) and then at The London College of Music (1986-90). After teaching privately from 1990 – 1995, he was diagnosed with a major illness in 1997. After several years of illness, miraculously, there was a dramatic improvement in his health in 2003 as a result of Christian ministry and prayer. (James had become a Christian in 1988).
In January of 2003, James began to compose music inspired by his Christian faith and that year composed ‘The Joy of the Lord Op.1’, for piano solo. In this piece and subsequent compositions, James brings together his love of Classical music and his Christian faith to create music that reflects the message of the Bible in a contemporary fashion. The music is tonal and with a strong emphasis on melody. His first piano pieces, ‘The Joy of the Lord’, ‘Visions of Heaven’, ‘The Children’s Song’, (A song without words), ‘The Fruit of Love’, and ‘The Light of the World’, can be played by pianists of about Grade 5 standard. The sheet music for all these pieces, like all James’ compositions, is available to purchase from the Scottish Music Centre.
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After composing for several years, James developed an idea for a music business called ‘Mannheim Classics’, which brings together all his musical skills. The name is inspired by the famous court orchestra in Mannheim during the 18thC, which the English music historian, Dr Charles Burney described as ‘An army of generals.’ Mannheim Classics is the name James V. Conn uses to self- publish his music and is also a record label, as his recordings are released under the Mannheim Classics label.
James became a member of the Scottish Music Centre in 2007 and the following year, made his first recordings of two of his piano compositions at The Foundry Music Lab with Graeme Duffin as producer. The resulting CD single ‘Piano Music by James V. Conn,’ containing ‘The Joy of the Lord,’ and ‘Visions of Heaven,’ was eventually released on the internet in 2012 and is available on the following stores – Amazon, Blinkbox, Deezer, eMusic, iTunes, MediaNet, Nokia Mix Radio, Xbox Music, 7 Digital and 24/7 Entertainment. This release has been active for three and a half years now and James has customers in the USA, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and the Philippines. This music can be accessed on the internet by searching for ‘James V. Conn.’ These two tracks have also been accepted into the internal EMI catalogue, accessible to film and television producers.
2014 saw the first public concert performances of James’ works with the creation and performance of a version for string quartet of ‘The Joy of the Lord.’ This was performed by the Maxwell String Quartet at a concert in February 2014 organised by Paragon at The Centre for Contemporary Arts. In December of that year, three of James’ piano works (‘The Light of the World,’ ‘The Fruit of Love’ and ‘The Children’s Song,’) were performed at another Paragon concert by piano professor Scott Mitchell of the Royal Conservatoire.
What is quite remarkable about James’ life is that during 2008, at the age of 42, he was diagnosed with the condition known as ‘Asperger’s Syndrome.’ He was actually born with this condition but it was not recognised in this country until the 1990’s. Today, James can say that his Christian faith has restored his life and that his music tells the story of that restoration. At present, James is currently working on a Piano Quintet.
James is available to play his music and speak about his Christian faith. Any churches or organisations who may be interested in this should contact either the Scottish Music Centre or James directly.
