James Arthur

I grew up in the town of Brighton, a suburb on the outskirts of Rochester, New York. As a kid, I did all the normal middle-America things: Little League (catcher), Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts, band (trumpet/trombone), etc. I began piano lessons at age 5 with my mother. In time I studied at a variety of private studios including the Eastman School. After high school, I entered SUNY Fredonia as an organ major, transferring to Stetson University in Deland FL. While raising a young family, I entered Peabody Teacher's College in Nashville. Later I trained as a Navy broadcast journalist, and once a civilian again, I spent five years as a classical radio announcer & producer at WPLN. In 1985, I completed a bachelor's degree in church music at Belmont College (cum laude) and returned for a master's in music education, conferred in 1991. The area of emphasis for my M.M.E. degree was Elementary/Primary Pedagogical Methodology (translation: how to teach music to kids in K-8). My internship was at Montessori Academy in Brentwood teaching pre-school through 6th grade. I'm now in my 7th year of teaching piano at Belmont Academy in Nashville, and have 40 students this fall.