Principal
James Sullivan has been Principal Oboe of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra since the rebirth of the orchestra in 1997. Prior to this appointment, he was Principal Oboe of both the Atlanta Opera Orchestra and the Columbus Symphony. While in Atlanta, James often performed with the Atlanta Symphony, with whom he recorded Bach's B Minor Mass and Mahler's Sixth Symphony.
James received his Master of Music degree in oboe performance from the Boston University School for the Arts where he was a scholarship student of Ralph Gomberg. During this time, he served as Principal Oboe of the Boston Civic Symphony. James' other principal teachers were Jonathan Dlouhy of the Atlanta Symphony and John Mack of the Cleveland Orchestra. He also studied for two summers at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada where he worked with Richard Killmer and Peter Bowman.
James received his undergraduate degree in Music Education form the University of Georgia and currently has an active teaching career in oboe. He serves on the faculties of Samford University and the University of Montevallo. In Atlanta, James was oboe instructor at Clayton State University and DeKalb College. Prior to teaching oboe, James taught choral music in the public schools for two years and worked closely with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Chorus.
In 2001, James was the featured soloist with both the ASO and the DeKalb Symphony Orchestra performing The Flower Clock Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra, by Jean Francaix.