Homages

Ralitsa Georgieva-Smith

The Pyramid

​Factory Seconds Brass Trio

Canons

​Akron Contemporary Players

Lonely Night

​The SaeRon Trio 

Quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon

The Univeristy of Akron Faculty Woodwind Quintet

Other Worlds

Iovi Saxophone Quartet
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Peruse the score

PUBLISHED: Five Volumes for the Developing Pianist

A new collection of piano pieces written over the past several years is published by Afri-Piano
Twenty Studies on Twentieth-Century Sounds is written with the beginner in mind and would be suitable for any student that has mastered an entry-level beginner’s book.

CONTENTS:
​My Puppy Sleeps, A Sunny Day, Two Friends, Apollos’s Lyre, etc.
​​BONUS: Five Duets for Teacher and Pupil
This volume is the second of the Twenty Studies on Twentieth-Century Sounds. It is written with the early intermediate pianist in mind.

CONTENTS:
​Choir Rehearsal of the Sea Anemones, The Snake Charmer, The King and Queen Dance, Camels in the Night, etc.
​BONUS: Five Duets for Teacher and Pupil
This volume is the third of the Twenty Studies on Twentieth-Century Sounds. It is written for the late intermediate or advanced student.

​CONTENTS:
The Blue Dolphin, Battle of the Ants, A Lazy Afternoon, Cops ’n Robbers, etc.
This is the fourth volume and contains pieces suitable for beginner and intermediate pianists.

CONTENTS:
White Owl and Blue River
Three Little Pieces for Piano
Clouds
Five Ecossaises
​Three Homages
This is the fifth volume and contains pieces suitable for intermediate and advanced students.

CONTENTS:
Shavi
Suite for Young People
Staying at Home
​Snow Pieces / Schneestücke

Birthday Bash

Guzzetta Recital Hall, The University of Akron

Guests Henry Kelder and Caroline Oltmanns
UA colleagues Stanislav Golovin, Todd Gaffke, Philip Thomson, Mayumi Kikuchi, and Cynthia Cioffari.

Program: 
Staying at Home for solo piano US Premier
Linea Instrumentalis 12 for solo bass clarinet World premier
Hlaba Igama for tenor sax and piano
5 Ecossaises for solo piano
Diptychos for two pianos World premier
Half Imagined for solo piano 
Sonata for bassoon and piano World premier

THE MANY MOODS OF MUSIC ​Article in Akron Beacon Journal

SOUTH AFRICAN FOLK SONGS Published

A new collection of songs in piano arrangements from South Africa is co-authored with Nkululeko Zungu and published by Hal Leonard
AVAILABLE IN SOFTCOVER OR DIGITAL BOOK

SOUTH AFRICAN FOLK SONGS Introductory Videos

SOUTH AFRICAN FOLK SONGS Reviewed in Pianodao

"Wilding and Zungu’s brilliant arrangements are as enjoyable as they are playable; exploring the collection proved an enriching experience, and these are pieces to which I will undoubtedly return."

Andrew Eales, piano educator
Read the full review here

WATCH: Hal Leonard’s Webinar Diverse New Repertoire

Jury Member in Foshan

The Final Round of the First Foshan Composers Contest was broadcast on 31 December 2022 

WATCH: the final round of the 1st Foshan Composers Contest

The Garden Had Fallen Still
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Peruse the score

New Sounds

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Mbira: a Lamellophone from Southern Africa
During one of my many trips back to my native South Africa, I picked up one of these beautiful instruments. They are easily available at craft markets, tourist shops, or just sold by the side of the road. Part of the Venda and Shona traditions, this type of instrument is also found further North, where it may be known as a Kalimba or Sansa.

The tuning of each member of this family is unique. For my mbira, the lowest notes are in the middle, the highest on the left and right, with different pentatonic scales in each of these two registers.

​Read more and hear this instrument on my blog

Sample Scores

WATCH: Composing and Creativity

James Wilding talks about his composition process on the January video of Urban Troubadour's Online Roving Adventures
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Watch on Urban Troubadour

Half Imagined

Staying at Home

Album PICTURES Reviewed in clevelandclassical.com

"In Pictures, the debut album from composer and pianist James Wilding, every piece was inspired by something outside the world of music, from the concrete (a particular sculpture) to the abstract (a vision of the end of the world)... perhaps the biggest draw of listening to Pictures is the unique glimpse it gives into one artist’s process of composition" - Jarrett Hoffman

PICTURES Album Launch

Impressions from the album launch at Steinway Piano Galley on 4 April 2019
Photography by Missy Iler

Recording the Album PICTURES

Video from the studio in Mount Vernon, New York
​Drops of Memory occur predictably, while the harmony changes gradually and unpredictably, forming a texture of individual notes dancing over a canvas of ever expanding and contracting harmonic progressions.
Inspired by a Zimbabwean stone sculpture of a maternal spirit, Nehanda Remembered uses quartal chords to represent the solid stone and the nurturing mother.

Preparing for the Project PICTURES

The composer talks about the process of practicing his own music

Kaupo Kikkas Photography

Amazing shots by award-winning Estonian photographer Kaupo Kikkas