Layton "Skip" James

Artist Biography

Known to all as “Skip,” Layton James has been principal keyboard artist with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra since 1969. James is also a conductor and composer internationally known for his cadenzas for Baroque and Classical concertos.

In April 2002, the SPCO premiered James’ adaptation of J.S. Bach’s B-Minor Partita for full string orchestra, a piece originally composed for solo violin. He has also scored organ music and choral selections for the SPCO holiday concerts.

James is music director and organist at Bethel Lutheran Church in Hudson, Wisconsin, and has been a clinician for the American Choral Directors Association and the American Guild of Organists. He has performed on several LifeStyle Records albums, and is the featured harpsichordist on Robert Shaw’s 1984 and 1987 recordings of Handel’s Messiah.

A builder of harpsichords, James plays one of his instruments with the SPCO. He trained as a musicologist at Cornell University and has taught music history and performance practice courses at the University of Hawaii, Stanford, Cornell, Macalester College and Westminster Choir College. He also a Steinway artist. In his spare time, James is an enthusiastic trout fisherman and amateur chef.

James was also a featured artist at the 2007, 2008 and 2009 White Pine festivals.