Chris James, 19, recently finished his second year of study with Linda Chesis at the Manhattan School of Music, where he is an International Advisory Board Scholar. He holds an Associateship diploma from Canada's Royal Conservatory of Music. Other major teachers have been Vicki Blechta, Camille Churchfield, Carolyn Christie and Camille Watts; he has also played for numerous international artists including Louis Moyse, Paul Edmund-Davies, Peter Lloyd, Davide Formisano and Walter Auer, among others.

Mr. James has been a laureate at numerous competitions in Canada and the United States, including the National Flute Association's prestigious High School Soloist Competition, as well as MusicFest Canada, and the Federation of Canadian Music Festivals' National Competition .

Chris has been a dedicated orchestral musician, joining his first orchestra at the age of 14. He has played under conductors including Jamie Laredo, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Valery Gergiev, Sir Andrew Davis, George Manahan and Kurt Masur, and currently plays Second Flute in New York's brand new Empire State Sinfonia. His travels have brought him to concert halls across Ontario, Quebec and the American Northeast, including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and Chris has been featured as a soloist at Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall, Glenn Gould Studio and George Weston Recital Hall.

In addition to his orchestral pursuits, Chris is an active performer and promoter of new music: currently in his repertoire are pieces written for him by Italian composer Paolo Marchettini and up-and-coming British composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson. Upcoming activities include the inaugural concert of his new “Flute and...” concert series, and an innovative Multimedia Concert Project that pairs young composers with artists in other media.