James Mobberley
COMPOSER – FULL BIO (program bio below)
Rome Prize winner and Guggenheim Fellow James Mobberley’s works span many media, from orchestra and electro-acoustic music to music for dance, film, and video. He is currently Curators’ Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Composition at the Conservatory at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His works have received over 1400 performances worldwide.
Commissions: Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, Koussevitzky Foundation/Library of Congress, Barlow Endowment, Meet the Composer, Chamber Music America, National Endowment for the Arts, and numerous ensembles and individual performers.
Selected as a 2009 Fellow of the Civitella Ranieri Center, he has also been a Resident Composer with the Kansas City Symphony (1992-1999), and a Visiting Composer with both the Taiwan National Symphony (1999) and the Fort Smith Symphony (2000).
Awards: American Academy of Arts and Letters, American Academy in Rome, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, League-ISCM, Meet the Composer, Van Cliburn Foundation, Shanghai Spring Festival, and numerous other organizations.
He has served on professional panels and nominating committees for organizations that include the American Academy in Rome, the Fromm Foundation, the Barlow Endowment, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Civitella Ranieri Center, the Fulbright Fellowships, New Music USA, the MacDowell Colony, the MidAtlantic Arts Foundation, the Bush Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, I-Park, the Fisher Competition and the Missouri Arts Council.
Two dozen recordings feature his music, including the Black Canyon, Bridge, Capstone, Centaur, Everglade, and Troppa Note labels, as well as an all-Mobberley recording on the Albany label recorded by the Czech National Symphony. Many of his works are available for listening on http://www.soundcloud.com/jim-mobberley.
His music is primarily self-distributed, with an additional publication by Edipan (Rome).
TEACHER
Dr. Mobberley is Curators’ Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Music at the UMKC Conservatory, where he was a member of the faculty from 1983-2019. He is a primary architect of the composition program, which has grown to include 50+ composition majors, from freshman through doctoral levels. He is much in demand as a guest composer, with lectures, master classes and workshops in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand, China, and Korea. Venues in the U.S. include Stanford University, Yale University, the University of California-Berkeley, Indiana University, the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Texas at Austin, and over forty other schools, festivals, and conferences.
PERSONAL
James Mobberley lives in Liberty, Missouri with his wife Laura, a writer. They have two sons, Lucas and Jacob. He bicycles avidly, riding thousands of miles each year. He has participated in charity events for the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society, and other causes. He also practices meditation and yoga.
SHORT BIO (for programs)
Rome Prize winner and Guggenheim Fellow James Mobberley’s works span many media, from orchestra and electro-acoustic music to music for dance, film, and video. Commissions have come from the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, Koussevitzky Foundation/Library of Congress, Barlow Endowment, Meet the Composer, Chamber Music America, National Endowment for the Arts, and numerous ensembles and individual performers. He is Curators’ Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Composition at the Conservatory, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and has also been a Resident Composer with the Kansas City Symphony (1992-1999), and a Visiting Composer with both the Taiwan National Symphony (1999) and the Fort Smith Symphony (2000). He has also received awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, League-ISCM, Meet the Composer, the Van Cliburn Foundation, the Shanghai Spring Festival, and numerous other organizations. Many of his works are available for listening on http://www.soundcloud.com/jim-mobberley.
James Mobberley 
Looks good, DD
Posted by Don Riggsbee | October 5, 2015, 2:22 pmThanks! I’m entering the 20th century. Go figure…
Posted by mobberleyj | October 5, 2015, 3:01 pmHello James,
I’m Sylvain Pluyaut, Dijon, France, organ teatcher in Dijon’s Conservatory.
I’d hear yesterday your work “Critical mass for organ and fixed media, for the inauguration of the new great organ in Philarmonie in Paris by Olivier Latry. It was totalty great! I’d enjoyed your piece!
and I would like to play it in my conservatory or evry where.
May you write me where it is possible bo get the score and the CD?
So, thank you for your spirit and I’ll be happy to read you!
The best regards!
Sylvain Pluyaut.
Posted by Sylvain PLUYAUT | February 7, 2016, 4:12 pmDear Sylvain, Thanks much for your interest — I sent you an email yesterday with the score (pdf), and a method to purchase the score and the playback file. Let me know of your continuing interest. Jim
Posted by mobberleyj | February 11, 2016, 9:13 pmBonjour, Je suis organiste à Paris, et j’aime beaucoup votre pièce Critical mass. Comment est-ce possible d’avoir la partition et la bande sonore pour l’interpréter ?
Merci,
Gabriel Bestion de Camboulas
Posted by Gabriel Bestion de Camboulas | October 30, 2022, 7:45 pmHello Gabriel — thank you for your note; I publish my own music and would be happy to help . I’ll reply to you via your email address with more details.
Posted by mobberleyj | November 1, 2022, 9:02 pmCertainly! Please email me at mobberleyj@umkc.edu
Posted by mobberleyj | November 4, 2022, 2:26 pmPlease send me your email address and I will reply with all details.
Posted by mobberleyj | November 1, 2022, 9:24 pmCertainly! Please email me at mobberleyj@umkc.edu
Posted by mobberleyj | November 1, 2022, 9:27 pmDear Mr Mobberley,
my name is Paolo Crivellaro and I am organ professor at the Universität der Künste (University of Arts) of Berlin.
I heard your composition “Critical Mass” which I like very much and that I would like to perform next year.
Would you be so kind to let me know how I can purchase the score and the CD?
Thank you in advance and best greetings,
Paolo Crivellaro
Posted by Paolo Crivellaro | October 24, 2016, 2:07 pmHello Mr. Mobberley,
My name is Andrew Dyet, I am a composition student at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. On April 7th I am performing in my senior trumpet recital and have learned the first movement of Icarus Wept but I cannot find a recording of the tape with organ that omits the trumpet part to perform with.
Would you be able to send me or point me in the right direction for a performance version of the tape?
Thank you,
Andrew Dyet
Posted by Andy Dyet | March 23, 2019, 10:07 pmDear Mr. Mobberley,
My name is Alec Ockaskis. I am a student teacher/band director at Northwest High School in Jackson Michigan. I am putting together a proposal for our next concert cycle’s rep. We are interested in playing your piece, Fantasy in Earth Tones. Can you let me know how I can purchase the score, parts and recording?
Thank you,
Alec Ockaskis
Posted by Alec Christopher Ockaskis | February 12, 2020, 1:50 pmHello Jim – greetings from Marilyn and me at BGSU! I just wanted you to know that my graduate student Daniel Lynge is performing your ONCE AGAIN TO THE LIGHT tomorrow in our studio class. I can send a program if you would like a copy. Hope you are well – best wishes.
Posted by John Sampen | January 27, 2021, 12:59 amHi John — so nice to hear from you! Please give my thanks and my best to Daniel. I hope he enjoyed working on the piece, and that all your students (and you!) get to get out there and perform for audiences again soon. What a year it has been…
Cheers,
Jim
Posted by mobberleyj | January 29, 2021, 7:26 pmI have 3 manuscripts my mother, Nora Louise Hulse, wanted me to send you. I wondered where I should mail these. They were compositions written by Herb Six.
Posted by Sue Nanninga | February 16, 2021, 11:25 pmSue,
Sorry to take so long to reply — I’ve had some problems with the website. My suggestion would be to send these to the UMKC library. They have extensive archives and this would be a nice resource for jazz majors. I’ve been retired from UMKC for several years now.
Posted by mobberleyj | June 1, 2022, 3:39 pmI am interested in possibly performing SHEBAM with my university New Music Ensemble.
Can you tell me how I can peruse the entire score? Is there a recording available?
Thank you. Jan Krzywicki
Posted by Jan Krzywicki | May 27, 2022, 2:36 pmHi Jan — delighted to hear from you! I’ll send you an email shortly with information on the score & parts
for SHEBAM. Hope things are going well for you at Temple.
Posted by mobberleyj | May 27, 2022, 3:08 pmHello JM, A blast from the past here…I was involved with the Salt Lake City performance of Caution to the Winds a very long time ago (and still love the piece). I have a student who wants to play it.
I would love to touch base and chat about getting score and tape (?).
Posted by Daniel Kramlich | November 15, 2022, 7:32 pmHi Dan! Thanks for getting in touch — hope all is well with you. If you could send me a quick email at mobberleyj@umkc.edu
I can get the ball rolling for you and your student.
Posted by mobberleyj | November 15, 2022, 8:06 pmHi Daniel — thanks for the note — I’m booked for much of the day today, but will send you an email with info about Caution very soon.
Posted by mobberleyj | November 17, 2022, 5:25 pmMy name is Eunseo Laura Lee, I am a violinist at Rice Shepherd Music School in Houston doing my master’s degree. I graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in 2023. I’ve been searching the violin pieces with tape/electronic and found your piece called “In Bocca Al Lupo” and it inspired me a lot. I have a concert coming up next month “Technology performance” and I would love to perform your piece. Could you kindly give me permission to perform the piece?
Posted by Eunseo Laura Lee | October 19, 2023, 9:02 pm