Artist
James Romain
As an orchestral saxophonist, James Romain performs regularly with the Minnesota Orchestra, including their historic 2015 tour to Havana, Cuba, and a performance of Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto in August of 2010 at London’s Royal Albert Hall on the BBC Proms series. He toured in early 2023 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, directed by Maestro Riccardo Muti, and in 2018 with the St. Louis Symphony. Dr. Romain has been an invited performer at the 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th World Saxophone Congresses, presenting numerous world premieres of solo and chamber works. James Romain is an active chamber musician. He is currently the baritone saxophonist with the Hinotori Quartet, also featuring Dr. Nathan Nabb from Stephen F. Austin State University, Dr. James Bunte from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Dr. Masahito Sugihara of Sam Houston State University. As a jazz saxophonist, Romain has been for nearly two decades the lead alto saxophonist of the Des Moines Big Band and is the baritone saxophonist with the New Third Stream Quartet. James Romain was the first saxophonist to be awarded the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Performance and Literature from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as a student of Professor Debra Richtmeyer. Dr. Romain holds prior degrees from the University of North Texas, where he was a teaching fellow and a student of Professor James Riggs. James Romain serves as Professor of Saxophone and Associate Director of Jazz Studies at Drake University in Des Moines, IA, where he is also the chair of the Department of Music. He served the profession from 2008-2018 as National Membership Director for the North American Saxophone Alliance. James Romain is a proud Selmer Paris and Conn Selmer Artist and performs exclusively on Selmer Paris saxophones.