Composer James Curnow (b. 1943) is currently a resident of Nicholasville, Kentucky. He composes and arranges full time and is an educational consultant and composer for Curnow Music Press, Inc. of Lexington, Kentucky. Curnow is also Composer-in-Residence Emeritus at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky.
Mr. Curnow also serves as Editor of USA South Music Publications for The Salvation Army USA Southern Territory in Atlanta, Georgia, and a member of The Salvation Army, Lexington, KY.
His formal training was received at Wayne State University (Detroit, Michigan) and at Michigan State University (East Lansing, Michigan), where he was an euphonium student of Leonard Falcone and a conducting student of Dr. Harry Begian. Mr. Curnow has taught in all areas of instrumental music, both on the public school level (five years) and college-university level (27 years).
In 1974, he received the Outstanding Educator of America Award and the National Band Association’s Citation of Excellence in 1980. In 1985, while a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, Mr. Curnow was honored as an outstanding faculty member.
As a conductor-clinician-composer, Curnow has traveled throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and Europe where his music has received wide acclaim. He has won several awards for band compositions.
Curnow has been commissioned to compose over 200 works for band and various ensembles, including brass band. Mr. Curnow’s published works now number over 400 and include numerous compositions published for Brass Band through Salvation Army Publications and other publishers in Europe and the United States.
The music for Festive Fanfare for the Holidays was purchased for the band by The Clarinet Section of December 2016.
