GRAMMY-nominated conductor James Jordan is recognized and praised throughout the musical world as one of America’s pre-eminent conductors, writers and innovators in choral music. He was described as a “visionary” by The Choral Journal, which cited his book Evoking Sound as a “must read.” His more than 40 books explore both the philosophical and spiritual basis of musicianship, as well as aspects of choral rehearsal teaching and learning. His book Evoking Sound has been praised by the Choral Journal as a “must read.” At Westminster Choir College he is Professor and Senior Conductor, and conducts the Westminster Schola Cantorum and the internationally acclaimed and Grammy-nominated Westminster Williamson Voices. He is also director of the Westminster Conducting Institute and co-director of the Choral Institute at Oxford now in its Sixth year (rider.edu/Oxford)  He is also Conductor and Artistic Director of The Same Stream Choir (thesamestreamchoir.com)  Dr. Jordan can also be heard on WWFM.org, the Classical Network,  co-hosting Sounds Choral.

 

James Jordan holds degrees from Susquehanna University (BM), a MM in choral conducting and a Ph.D in the Psychology of Music from Temple University.  He holds conducting certificates from Chorsttudio Wilhelm Ehman earned in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He has attended the Laban Institute of Movement Studies in New York.  Dr. Jordan has been fortunate to be a student of the leading conductors and researchers of our times. He is a student of Elaine Brown, Gail B. Poch, Frauke Haasemann, Edwin E. Gordon, Eric Ericsson, and Volker Hempfling.  His populat summer programs at Westminster Choir College and at The Choral Institute at Oxford for 30 years have influenced thousands of conductors around the world.  His online courses through Westminster and now WeMusic extends his influence around the world.

 

His recordings with the Westminster Williamson Voices have garnered wide critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Choir and Organ wrote about their Grammy-nominated recording Annelies, “Jordan’s instinctive understanding of the score makes this a profound and emotionally charged experience.” 2017-2018 marks the release of four new recordings with him as conductor: Silence into Light (Westminster Williamson Voices); Abide, (The Same Stream Choir) and featuring the music of Thomas LaVoy, Dan Forrest, Peter Relph and Paul Mealor; Stabat Mater: The Music of Paul Mealor (The Same Stream Choir) and  Sunrise Mass: Music of Ola Gjielo (Westminster Williamson Voices).  All are or will be available through iTunes and Amazon. His recordings with The Same Stream Choir (thesamestreamchoir.com), a choir of alumni of the Westminster Williamson Voices is gaining the notice of critics and audiences alike.

 

            James Jordan’s research beginning in 1980 regarding applications of Laban to rhythm pedagogy and conducting are pioneering.  His landmark Ph.D on the application of Laban to the teaching of movement/rhythm is the core of this volume and that research has influenced the teaching of rhythm to children through adults.  His landmark book applying Laban pedagogy to conducting, The Conductor’s Gesture (GIA) has transformed conducting pedagogy.  Dr. Jordan studied at the Laban Institute of Movement Studies in New York City.  James Jordan was also a student of Sarah Chapman at Temple University who guided his research in Modern educational Dance.  Gail Poch, who initially made connections into conducting pedagogy was Dre. Jordan’s mentor throughout his doctoral studies. Dr. Jordan completed his studies in psychology and the History of Psychology at Bucknell under David Milne.  James Jordan was awarded the prestigious Russell Conwell Fellowship at Temple University to fund his research and study regarding Rudolf Laban.  Dr. Jordan served on the faculty of The School of the Hartford Ballet, the only Ballet School in America that used Laban as the core of its curriculum for dance and movement instruction.  As the Chair for Music Education at the Hartt School of Music, he was a prime architect in collaboration with Enid Lynn of the Hartford Ballet of the BFA programs in Dance and Dance Education instituted at the Hartt School.  Under the inspiring direction of Edwin Gordon, the applications of Laban into Music Learning Theory were the result of their collaborative thinking on the subject and are documented in the text, Inside the Choral Rehearsal (GIA). Central to Dr. Jordan’s application of Laban to rhythm/movement pedagogy are the interrelationships of neurology and harmonic rhythm as they affect rhythm perception and performance.

 

Dr. Jordan’s career and publications have been devoted to innovative educational changes in the choral art, which have been embraced around the world. This year, he will publish three new books : The Musician’s Being (published on the Twentieth anniversary of the publication of The Musician’s Soul),  The Choral Ensemble Movement Warm-Up and the ground breaking book, Chant as Improvisation. In the coming year, Four new Cd’s will drop:  Sunrise Mass (Ola Gjielo), and Aurora (with the Westminster Williamson Voices and Serenity: The Music of Paul Mealor and To Hold the Light, both recorded with The Same Stream Choir (thesamestreamchoir.com) His residencies, master classes and guest conducting have taken him throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and China. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2015, conducting the New York premiere of Paul Mealor’s Stabat Mater. He is also the conductor/artistic director of the professional choir, The Same Stream, a community of singers with a shared Westminster experience. Learn more at Thesamestreamchoir.com. In  2015, Dr. Jordan conducted the world premiere of Paul Mealor’s First Symphony: Passiontide in Scotland.

 

The teaching and learning pedagogies that James Jordan has developed throughout his life through his 60 books, focusing on applications of Music Learning Theory developed by Edwin Gordon applied to choral music, new innovations in conducting pedagogy and voice science applied to the choral rehearsal, are used around the western world.  Recently, Dr. Jordan has begun, through groundbreaking seminars and online instruction, to advance music education in mainland China through partnerships with WeMusic ( we-music.com), the Chinese Happiness Foundation and the philanthropy of Chinese pop artist Jason Zhang. His passion is to spread, with the help of Zhang and the Happinesss Foundation,  and WeMusic his life’s work concerning modern music education based upon Music Learning Theory and share it live and via online courses delivered directly music teachers in the under-privileged areas of China, bringing music to millions of Chinese children.

 

The wider influence of James Jordan’s work has been in the realm of the philosophy of what it means to be an honest, open vulnerable human being and artist.  Beginning with The Musician’s Soul in 1999, his influence around the world has made a mark upon conductors in all genres and music teachers.  He has continued these explorations in The Musician’s Spirit, The Musician’s Walk, The Musician’s Trust, Sound at Teacher, The Conductor as Prism and The Moral Acoustic of Sound, all published by GIA Publications in Chicago.  In recognition of the twentieth anniversary of the Musician’s Soul, he will publish The Musician’s Being with contributors Dominic Gregorio with a foreword by Artist Makoto Fujimura.

 

Through his work at The Choral Institute at Oxford,  one of the world’s foremost conductor  study programs in the world, he is developing a music learning pedagogy based upon choral improvisation practices developed by Gary Graden.  His exploration of the use of Gregorian Chant as a door into musical artistry in Discovering Chant (GIA) will be expanded into choral improvisation in the text to be published in late 2019, Choral Improvisation through Chant.

 

James Jordan has been the recipient of many honors and residencies around the world.  James Jordan has been honored as a distinguished alumnus of Temple University, where he has been inducted into the University’s Hall of Fame. In 2016, he received the distinguished alumni medal from Susquehanna University. He was awarded the distinguished Doctor of Music by the University of Aberdeen in Scotland in 2014 to honor his artistry and contributions to choral music throughout the world. The University, established in 1485, has awarded degrees throughout its history to only two Americans: Dr. Jordan and Morten Lauridsen. He shares this distinguished honor with Gustav Holst, Benjamin Britten and Dame Joan Sutherland.