Mr. James West is an active performer, composer, and educator based in Johnson City, Tennessee. James has been on faculty since 2022. He also teaches guitar at Milligan University.
James holds a Master of Music concentrating in Classical Guitar Performance from Appalachian State University where he studied with Dr. Douglas James as his Graduate Assistant. During his studies he was an active performer, juried competitions, assisted in conducting for the Appalachian State Guitar Orchestra, and continued his Jazz guitar studies with Andy Page. James received his Bachelor's of Music concentrating in Classical Guitar and was a recipient of the Powell Jazz Scholarship at East Tennessee State University under the direction of Barry Hannah. James is currently persuing his D.M.A in Guitar Performance at the University of South Carolina, serving as a grad assistant to Dr. Mak Grgic.
As a local artist, James performed as a soloist with Milligan University Orchestra in 2018. Since then, James has performed with several other University Ensembles. In addition, James has performed a variety of his own compositions all over the Southern United States. James enjoys playing both Classical and Jazz style guitar, and prides himself on his unique approach to teaching both.