James Stephenson's music is the complete package: a fresh and energizing sound scape that delights the audience while maintaining integrity and worthwhile challenges for the performing musicians. This rare combination has rewarded Stephenson with many commissions and projects. Stephenson studied at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he earned his Bachelor of Music with distinction in trumpet performance.

Stephenson's music has been performed by many of today's leading orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the symphonies of Houston, Atlanta, Detroit, Baltimore, Oregon, Jacksonville, the Rochester Philharmonic, Florida Orchestra, and the Naples Philharmonic. A diverse sampling of individuals who have performed Stephenson's works would include Pinchas Zukerman, Denyce Graves, Jennifer Frautschi, the Chicago Symphony String Quartet, Empire Brass members Marc Reese, Mark Hetzler and Greg Miller, and even the Pointer Sisters and 98 Degrees. Stephenson's music appears on many artists' recordings, including those of Jouko Harjanne, Eric Berlin, Richard Watson, the Christy Quartet, Musicians-out-of-the-Box and his own, Colors.

Increasingly in demand for his passionate work with young musicians, Stephenson has appeared as resident composer at many festivals, including the Las Vegas Music Festival, the Southern Illinois Music Festival, Lynn University's Contemporary Music Festival and the St. Barts (French West Indies) Music Festival. A similar highlight of 2007 involves three brass conferences in three weeks, one of which being ITG's Conference, including two world premieres, and a showcase of Stephenson's brass compositions.