Aileen James, DMA – secretary & forum hostess
Sharing a personal and professional delight in music with the community
Aileen James has been a board member of InConcert Sierra/TCCA since 1998. Her role as our pre-concert forum hostess began in the 1999 to de-mystify the world of classical music and make it more accessible to all. To take that one step farther, Aileen is also a D.J. on local community radio station KVMR the second Thursday of the month at 8pm. Her ‘Classical Showcase’ is the only primetime music show in the Sacramento and surrounding area.
Dr. Aileen James
Aileen holds a bachelor degree in music and a masters degree in piano performance and music history. In 1976 she was accepted to Stanford University on full fellowship, the only pianist in the graduate program, and received her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Performance practices (DMA). Her studies encompassed an equal amount of performance and research, with a thesis on Brahms. Further studies include University of Southern California, the Schubert Institute in Austria, and the Royamount Music Festival in France, and private studies with Adolph Baller of the Alma Trio, and Julian White of Berkeley.
Dr. James has been a private teacher for over 50 years and served on the faculties of Pacific Union College, Stanford and Santa Clara Universities. From 1986 – 1997 she was the Artistic Director of the American Pianists Association in Indianapolis, heading its Biennial National Piano Fellowship Competition and the fellowship program. While living there, she was forum hostess and wrote the program notes for the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. As a member of the Music Teachers National Association and Music Teachers Association of California, she has been active as a lecture recitalist and taught master classes.
Aileen enjoys facilitating the pre-concert forums as it give her a continuing opportunity to share with the audience the experience of listening to great music in exciting performances. Her informal approach brings the audience and the artist closer together through her ease in communicating with both. Her passion for music history and research is notable in her program notes and the conversations with the artists at the forum presentation, and is fulfilled with the opportunity to share these with the audience.
Currently, Aileen lives in Grass Valley and continues her enjoyment of performing chamber music and lecture-recitals. She frequently shares the bench with her colleague and friend, Ken Hardin, in piano four-hands (and sometimes even two pianos!). Her relationship with the American Pianist Association has resulted in a partnership with InConcert Sierra that brings us a Fellowship Winner to the opening concert of the Third Sunday Season each year.
