James Newton

James Newton is a virtuoso flutist, composer, and conductor.

Newton's compositions encompass jazz as well as chamber, symphonic, dance, and electronic music. Described as a "musician's renaissance man," he has performed with the Mingus Dynasty, New York Philharmonic, David Murray, Vladimir Spivakov and the Moscow Virtuosi, Anthony Davis, Bobby Hutcherson, Billly Hart, George Lewis, Kenny Burrell, Herbie Hancock, Los Angeles Philharmonic New Music Group, Henry Threadgill, and the David Murray/James Newton Quintet at the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Musica Oggi festival in Milan (Italy), International Music and Computer Festival in Havana (Cuba), and in the African nation of Niger. His works for dance have been performed by the San Francisco Ballet and Limón Dance Company. His classical compositions have been performed in the U.S. and Europe. He has received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts. He was voted the top flutist for 20 consecutive years in Downbeat's International Critics' Poll.

Newton lives and works in Los Angeles as Professor of Music at California State University, Los Angeles, where he serves as artistic director of the Luckman Jazz Orchestra and director of music programming and research at the Luckman Fine Arts Complex. He travels widely as composer and performer.