James Roberson is a composer, sound designer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, California.

Growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee, James began playing and performing violin at the age of four.   At the age of thirteen he picked up the guitar and began teaching himself songs and music theory.  He also joined his high school’s orchestra where he began to build his orchestral arranging and composition knowledge.  With an early copy of Finale, he started arranging and composing for string quartet, string orchestra, and full orchestra.  Several of these pieces were later performed by various ensembles in Tennessee and Massachusetts.

At the same time, James began broadening his guitar horizons, studying jazz guitar with Mark Boling and classical finger-style guitar with Lawrence Long.  He also began incorporating these influences into his composing and orchestration, arranging Vivaldi’s “Summer” from the Four Seasons for electric guitar, string orchestra, and rock band.  This arrangement eventually led to him being awarded a guitar scholarship to Berklee College of Music.

At Berklee, James studied Film Scoring and Composition from such accomplished composers as Sheldon Mirowitz, Michael Sweet, and the renowned John Bavicchi, himself a student of Walter Piston.   He also continued his guitar studies, taking lessons from the likes of Norm and Abigail Zocher, and Don Lappin.   Throughout his Berklee career he continued to play in bands, record guitar, and arrange and compose for the stage, screen, and studio.

After graduation, James moved to Los Angeles and got a job as a composer for BASE Productions.  His music and sound design have appeared in various shows such as “Last American Cowboy”, “Known Universe”, “American Paranormal”, and many others.

In addition to his various writing jobs, James worked alongside acclaimed film composer Rupert Gregson-Williams at Remote Control Productions for several years.  He continues to write and record library and film music, performing guitar, mandolin, bass, keys, and vocals.  He has written and recorded for such diverse composers as Deborah Lurie, Gerrit Wunder, Mark Isham, Christopher Willis, and Lorne Balfe.

James is perhaps best known as the composer for the well-loved series “Spirit Riding Free” which is based on the classic DreamWorks Animation film “Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron“.  On “Spirit“, James was able to bring his entire musical history to bear to combine modern cinematic scoring and pop production with tradition folk and western techniques to build an authentic and unique sonic world for the characters to inhabit.

Recently, James has been focusing on composing feature film scores such as “Heart of a Champion“, “The Dancing Queen“, and the upcoming “Christmas With The Pups 2: Pups Alone” and “Piglet“.  He has also recently contributed additional music and orchestration on “Old Dads” and the upcoming documentary “Playing To Survive: von Cramm vs Hitler“.