Dr. James Naigus is Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Georgia and hornist with the Georgia Brass Quintet. He is co-founder of the Cor Moto Horn Duo with Dr. Drew Phillips, and co-editor/contributor of the Creative Hornist and Technique Tips columns in the Horn Call, the journal of the International Horn Society.
He has played with the Atlanta Symphony, Wichita Symphony, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, Brevard Symphony Orchestra, Gainesville Chamber Orchestra, Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, and Ocala Symphony Orchestra. In 2019 he was selected to perform with the WCIT World Orchestra in Yerevan, Armenia. He has toured Europe in 2017 & 2014 and South America in 2011 as a member of the American Chamber Winds. He has also performed on recitals at the MidNorth, Midwest, Midsouth and Southeast Horn Workshops, as well as the 2018, 2015 and 2013 International Horn Symposiums..
Naigus has been a member of the faculty and staff at the prestigious Kendall Betts Horn Camp for the last six years, which included designing and teaching an aural harmony music theory course. Additional teaching interests include music theory, concert and commercial composition, film music, and technology.
Naigus' compositions have been performed throughout the United States and beyond, with enthusiastic reception and rave review. In 2013 he was the Composer-in-Residence at the Southeast Horn Workshop in Richmond, VA. In 2009 he was awarded an honorable mention award in the International Horn Society Composition Contest. He has written commercial compositions for clients such as Google, University of Michigan, University of Florida, and University of Iowa. He currently has over sixty works published by Wavefront Music Publishing, Veritas Musica Publishing, and self published.
He is a graduate of the University of Iowa (DMA) studying with Jeffrey Agrell, studied horn and composition with Paul Basler at the University of Florida during his masters degree, and while attending the University of Michigan for his undergraduate degree studied with Soren Hermansson, Bryan Kennedy, and Adam Unsworth. Prior appointments include the University of Central Missouri and the University of Iowa.
