James Donahue has been principal flutist of the Evanston Symphony Orchestra since 2012. As an active freelance musician in the Chicagoland area, he has appeared as guest principal flute with the Rockford Symphony and a regular substitute on flute, piccolo, and alto flute with the Rockford, Elgin and Elmhurst Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Midwest Philharmonic.
As a concerto soloist James has performed Mozart’s G major flute concerto with the Midwest Philharmonic, and in 2008 he gave the premier performance of Timothy McCormack’s Tumma Pilvi for solo bass flute and chamber ensemble with members of the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble. The latter work was written for and dedicated to James.
James is an enthusiastic recitalist whose programming spans the entire gamut of the flute repertoire from Baroque to Contemporary. He has a particular interest in the works of 20th and 21st century Japanese composers such as Takemitsu, Fukushima, Yuasa, and Hosokawa. He has presented numerous lecture recitals on how the music of these composers is influenced by the Zen Honkyoku repertoire of the Japanese Shakuhachi (an end-blown Bamboo flute developed by Buddhist monks).
In demand as a teacher, James has been the flute instructor at Knight Music Academy in North Barrington since 2011. He also maintains a private studio at his home in the northwest Chicago suburbs. His students range in age from eight to eighty years old! Formerly, he taught flute and chamber music at the Midwest Conservatory of Music from 2011-2022. Each summer from 2014-2019 James was on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Flute Camp, where he taught masterclasses in flute repertoire, piccolo, and a course on world flutes. His students have won or placed in many prestigious competitions including those of the Chicago Flute Club, Madison Flute Club, Society of American Musicians, Illinois Music Educators Association, and various concerto competitions. Many have gone on to pursue music degrees at notable universities such as Northwestern, Roosevelt, and Yale.
James received his Bachelor of Music in flute performance from the Baylor University School of Music where he studied with Helen Ann Shanley. Following his studies at Baylor, James earned the Oberlin Conservatory’s prestigious Artist Diploma following two years of intensive study with legendary French flutist and pedagogue Michel Debost. He has also studied with Kathleen Chastain, Tal Perkes, Dr. Rita Linard, and former principal flutist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Bernard Goldberg.
James plays Powell flutes, mostly performing on a custom platinum flute with gold keys or a grenadilla wood flute with gold keys. When not pursuing his musical activities, he is an American Kennel Club dog show judge, and and travels the world judging and showing dogs.
