James Sherry has directed honor bands across the United States and performed as a trumpeter in Orchestra Hall in Chicago, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, the Gold Coast Casino in Las Vegas, and the Hanoi Jazz Club in Vietnam. He has performed across the United States, with the Baltimore Symphony, bands in New Orleans, mariachi festivals in Chicago, on tours with the Russ Morgan Orchestra, and made a concert tour of German cathedrals with his sister, Diana Sherry. He and pianist Bang Lang Do have presented concerts in Canada and throughout Southeast Asia. He is the principal trumpet of the Peninsula Symphony and Street Symphony on Skid Row in Los Angeles.
Dr. Sherry has worked as a community organizer in The Bronx, New York, the Chicago Public Schools, and as a clinician for Young Audiences and Columbia Artists. In addition, he taught music for over twenty years at The Johns Hopkins University, Mahidol College of Music in Thailand, and the University of Dubuque. In Dubuque, Dr. Sherry was the music director at Grandview Methodist Church. He holds degrees from Illinois State University, Yale University, the Longy School of Music, and the Peabody Conservatory. An active voice for new music, he was the Executive Director and orchestral contractor for Chicago’s CUBE Contemporary Chamber Ensemble. He recently released Rendez-Gnu: The ConCorDance Project, a CD of his music compositions. He teaches elementary music with Santa Ana Unified School District and co-founded the Mindful Music Academy in Fountain Valley with Bang Lang Do in 2015.