A Pioneer of Choral Music

James Bingham

1945-

James Bingham is chair of the music department and director of choral activities at Columbia Union College, a position he has held since 1994. Prior to this appointment , he chaired the music department and directed choirs at both Kingsway College in Canada from 1970-80 and Atlantic Union College from 1985-94. In addition to his work at CUC, he also directs the Spencerville, Maryland, SDA Church Choir and arranges, orchestrates and composes music for various combinations of instruments and voices. Of particular note is his Requiem which was premiered in March 1999.

Bingham began his musical training in Geelong, Australia, and was strongly influenced by the active music program of his home church. He was appointed assistant organist at an early age at the request of the church organist and continued in that position until he graduated from high school. It was during this time that his passion for choral music was ignited and as both singer and organist he had opportunity to develop his talents. This love of choral music only intensified during his undergraduate studies at Avondale College, N.S.W.

After teaching at the Geelong and North Geelong High Schools, Bingham moved to the United States to continue studies in organ performance at Andrews University. However, he fell under the spell of composer Blythe Owen and changed his major to Musical Theory and Composition. Upon receiving an M.A. from AU in 1970, he moved to Canada, where he began his work at KC.

The choral program flourished at KC and during his ten years of leadership the choir grew in prestige and traveled extensively. Bingham then returned to the United States to complete doctoral studies at AU. While there he served as organist and choir director at the First Congregational Church of Benton Harbor, Michigan. He accepted the position at AUC in 1985, having graduated from AU with a Ph.D. in Education in 1984. Following nine years at AUC, he began his work at CUC.

Bingham's choirs have recorded and toured extensively, performing in major concert halls, cathedrals, and churches in Australia, Canada, China, Europe, the Far East, the Middle East, South Africa, and the United States. As with his prior choirs, the Columbia Collegiate Chorale and the Pro Musica of Columbia Union College have performed to both national and international acclaim.

The Pro Musica, a group founded by the late Paul Hill in 1967, has more recently performed in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., under Bingham's direction. It was selected, along with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, to represent the United States at the 1995 Jerash International Festival, Jordan, under the sponsorship of Queen Noor of Jordan. The choir has recorded a number of CDs under the Ethereal Records label and has received highest praise for its recording of Louis Vierne