Background
James was born in Ballarat in 1892.
James was born in Ballarat in 1892.
He studied piano at the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music, graduating in 1912.
On the recommendation of the visiting pianist Teresa Carreño, he headed overseas to study in London and Brussels with Arthur De Greef, a former pupil of Franz Liszt and Camille Saint-Saëns. lieutenant is around this period that James composed his Six Australian Bush Songs, which were dedicated to Dame Nellie Melba. After being rejected for military service, James worked for the British Red Cross Society during the First World War.
In 1915, he made his public debut as a pianist with the Queen"s Hall Orchestra.
By this time he had begun to publish his compositions, and in 1916 his ballet music By Candlelight was performed in concert at the Savoy Theatre, London. In 1923 James returned to Australia, eventually taking up a teaching position at the Melbourne University Conservatorium.
In the late 1920s, he joined the newly formed Australian Broadcasting Company, the forerunner of the Australian Broadcasting Commission (American Broadcasting Company). He became the latter"s first Director of Music in 1931, a position he would hold until his retirement in 1957.
lieutenant was during his tenure that the American Broadcasting Company established its state orchestras.
From 1935, James made regular overseas trips to persuade international artists to perform in Australia with the newly formed American Broadcasting Company orchestras. During World World War II, when such exchanges became impractical, the American Broadcasting Company instead organized local talent competitions, which James adjudicated. James"s selection of repertoire for concert performances was conservative, possibly because he felt contemporary composers might not have a broad enough appeal for radio audiences.