JAMES SHIELDS
Currently the principal clarinetist of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, James Shields is a graduate of The Juilliard School (B.M. Clarinet Performance), where he studied with Ricardo Morales. During the summers of 2003 and 2004 he studied at the Aspen Music Festival, and performed with the Aspen Festival and Chamber Orchestras. Mr. Shields is a graduate of Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, where he performed with the Austin Chamber Music Center. In 2001 he was an Emerson Scholar at the Interlochen Arts Camp, where he performed with the World Youth Syphony Orchestra as both the principal clarintiest and as a soloist, joining the orchestra in a performance of Copland’s Clarinet Concerto. During the following year he was the 2002 Young Artist Winner of the statewide Texas Wind Symphony Concerto Competition. In addition to his studies with Mr. Morales, other teachers include Richard Macdowell, Deborah Chodacki, Burt Hara, and Bil Jackson. Along with his activities as a performer, Mr. Shields has made appearances as a conductor, organizing and leading several chamber orchestra concerts in New York. While living in Manhattan he studied composition with Dr. Philip Lasser, and his "Lost Man Loop" for string quartet was premiered at The Juilliard School in the spring of 2006. He is currently working toward a graduate degree in Composition at the University of New Mexico. James is an avid hiker and likes to spend his summers backpacking in western North America.
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