Background
James was born to Martin L. and Harriett Hotchkiss Rogers in Fair Haven, Connecticut, descended from a family of "old New England stock".
James was born to Martin L. and Harriett Hotchkiss Rogers in Fair Haven, Connecticut, descended from a family of "old New England stock".
At the age of eighteen he went to Berlin, Germany, where he studied for two years with Carl August Haupt and Rohde, followed by two years in Paris, France, where he studied with Alexandre Guilmant, Henri Fissot, and Charles-Marie Widor.
He began studying piano by the age of twelve and organ with Clarence Eddy in Chicago. He worked for a year in Burlington, Iowa before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, where he established himself primarily as an organist. Rogers married Alice Abigail Hall on 20 October 1891 and had two children, Stewart and Marian.
In addition to his organist positions at the Euclid Avenue Temple (a position he held for 50 years), he taught at the Cleveland School of and served as a critic for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
He was not a harsh critic: even when Isadora Duncan danced in an outrageous red costume in 1922, Rogers simply wrote, "all things considered, the orchestra did very well." Rogers explained his role was not to discourage but rather to encourage and advise. He also published some of his own music and those of others
Upon his retirement from the Cleveland School of, he was honored by 500 musicians and friends at a farewell dinner. He moved to Pasadena, California, where he died.
He was buried in Lake View Cemetery.
In 1946, the Cleveland Orchestra dedicated a program to music by Rogers. A portrait, painted by Mary Seymour Brooks, was presented to the Western Reserve Historical Society a year later.