James Balentine, Music Theory, Composition, Jazz Studies

James Scott Balentine, Professor of Music Theory and Composition at the University of Texas at San Antonio, is a composer, arranger, performer and conductor. He teaches courses in music theory and composition, and jazz studies. Dr. Balentine holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of South Carolina and the Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition from the University of Texas at Austin. His composition teachers included Gordon (Dick) Goodwin, Samuel Douglas, Eugene Kurtz, Barton McLean and Karl Korte. He has also served as Director of Jazz Studies at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, and was founder and owner of One Music Square, a full line retail music store.

His music has been performed at numerous international conferences and festivals, including Clarinetfest, the International Double Reed Convention, the International Flute Society Convention, and New Music Festivals at Indiana State University, Otterbein College, Electronic Music Plus, Shanghai International Clarinet Festival, and others. He has received commissions from the Barlow Endowment, the College Band Directors National Association, Cactus Pear Festival, the Krost Symposium, and many others. His music is published by Southern Music, Cimarron Music, and Guildhian Music (link to www. guildhian.com).

Courses Taught

MUS 1102 Aural Skills I
MUS 1112 Basic Skills I
MUS 1122 Aural Skills II
MUS 1132 Basic Skills II
MUS 1122 Aural Skills III
MUS 1132 Basic Skills III
MUS 1122 Aural Skills IV
MUS 1132 Basic Skills IV
MUS 2142 Composition I
MUS 3162 Composition II
MUS 4142 Composition III
MUS 4183 Jazz Composition and Arranging
MUS 5163 Composition
MUS 3143 Orchestration
MUS 5103 Analytical Techniques
MUS 2263 History and Styles of Jazz