Morgan James is a classically trained vocalist, Broadway veteran, songwriter and recording artist. Her vocal versatility extends from symphony to soul. In concert, Ms. James has appeared with the Louisville Orchestra, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic, Breckinridge Music Festival, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and Wichita Symphony performing her solo Leonard Bernstein show, conducted by her frequent collaborator, Teddy Abrams.
Ms. James was featured with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the concert version of West Side Story conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She recently appeared with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in an all-Bernstein program led by Brett Mitchell. Ms. James has had the honor of being in the Bernstein MASS four times, most recently with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, (conducted by Marin Alsop); with the Louisville Orchestra (conducted by Teddy Abrams); the Philadelphia Orchestra (conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin), as well as with the Baltimore Symphony at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center (also conducted by Marin Alsop).
On Broadway, Ms. James appeared in the original Broadway casts of Motown: The Musical, Godspell, Wonderland, and The Addams Family. She recently toured Europe and the U.S. with her own soul band. In March, she and the band will perform at the Sapphire Room in Boise. She toured Europe, Australia, and the U.S. with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, and is featured in ten of their videos. Her videos on YouTube have garnered 150 million views.
As a recording artist, Ms. James recently released her album of original soul music, Reckless Abandon. Her debut studio album was entitled Hunter and she recorded a live album dedicated to the music of Nina Simone (Epic Records). Ms. James received her vocal training at The Juilliard School.