About

Equally at home as a soloist, collaborator, presenter, and teacher, pianist James Palmer is a dynamic musician based in Houston, Texas.

Described as “one of those artists who can make classical music such great fun” (Sedona Red Rock News), James performs across the United States and abroad as a soloist and chamber musician. His broad musical appetite has led to a diverse performing career, ranging from traditional recital performances to innovative projects featuring new music. An active member of the Houston music scene, James regularly performs in venues throughout the city. Past appearances include the Scriabin Piano Concerto with Symphony North of Houston and the Art of Piano Residency at Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada. Upcoming performances for the 25-26 season include solo recitals in Philadelphia and Houston, including a faculty recital at Rice University, and the Piano on the Rocks International Festival in Sedona, AZ (May 2026). James is a second-year Da Camera of Houston Young Artist.

James is one half of Houston-based Duo Impetuoso with violist Molly Wise. Dedicated to mastering and re-defining the viola/piano duo canon, the pair have performed extensively in Houston at venues like the Steinway Selection Center. They have additionally been featured as guest performers at Texas Christian University and were invited to perform at the American Viola Society Conference in Los Angeles, CA in June 2024.

A passionate performer of new music, James is frequently sought after for premieres and collaborations. He has premiered pieces by Karim al-Zand, Pierre Jalbert, Nicky Sohn, Sam Wu, Bahar Royaee, and many others. From 2021-22, James developed the lecture-recital What is a Piano Prelude?, in which he presented a set of solo piano preludes he commissioned from six award-winning Houston-based composers: Badie Khaleghian, Nicky Sohn, Sam Wu, Olivia Bennett, Alex Berko, and Pierre Jalbert.  Listen to these pieces here.

James is the Secretary for the Scriabin Society of America (SSA), a national organization dedicated to promoting the music and legacy of the great Russian composer Alexander Scriabin.  In this role, he co-organized and gave a lecture-recital at the SSA’s International Scriabin 150 Festival in November, 2022, which celebrated the composer’s sesquicentennial anniversary. The SSA regularly organizes performance events and produces scholarly publications. To learn more about the SSA, please visit https://scriabinsociety.com/.

A Passion for Teaching

James is a Lecturer at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where he teaches Master’s-level Piano Literature; he is also a faculty instructor on the Shepherd School Preparatory Program. During the summer, he leads the Summer Piano Intensive at the AFA Texas Summer Music Festival in Houston, TX. During his doctorate, James held a Teaching Fellowship at the Shepherd School of Music.

Education and Background

James completed his DMA in 2025 at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where he studied with Dr. Robert Roux. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying respectively with Émile Naoumoff and Menahem Pressler. As a pre-college student, James studied with pianist-composer Sandrine Erdely-Sayo in his native Philadelphia, PA. 

A Commitment to Finding Innovative ways to Share Music

From 2021-22, James developed the lecture-recital What is a Piano Prelude?, in which he presented a set of solo piano preludes he commissioned from six award-winning Houston-based composers: Badie Khaleghian, Nicky Sohn, Sam Wu, Olivia Bennett, Alex Berko, and Dr. Pierre Jalbert.  He gave numerous performances of this lecture-recital in the area and is currently releasing a YouTube series version of the project.

In 2019, James launched the Scriabin Preludes Project, a forward-looking YouTube series focused on the Opus 11 Preludes of Alexander Scriabin. The series can be found on James’s YouTube page, with previews on his Instagram.  James has given several presentations about this series, including at the 2020 MTNA Collegiate Symposium in Muncie, Indiana.