James Kalyn Conductor James Kalyn brings to the podium broad musical experience as an orchestral musician and conductor.  Fluent in traditional and contemporary classical music styles, as well as in jazz and theatre music, Kalyn’s flexibility as a performer, conductor, and educator enables him to enjoy a diverse career of mutually enriching activities.

Mr. Kalyn is in his fourth season as conductor of the Illuminations Festival Orchestra in North Carolina, USA. In May of 2006 he conducted the China National Opera and Dance Symphony in Beijing, and has appeared as a guest conductor, coach, and teacher around the United States and Canada. For nine years he conducted the Wind Ensemble of the North Carolina School of the Arts, where he served also as Professor of Saxophone. His previous teaching and conducting appointments include posts at the University of Western Ontario, Wilfrid Laurier University, the Eastman School of Music, and Ithaca College.

In addition to conducting, Mr. Kalyn maintains a diverse performing career. As a concert saxophonist he has performed on concert stages, recordings, and radio throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Argentina, China, and Japan. He won the Grand Prix at the Canadian Music Competitions, and as a member of a saxophone quartet won first place in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. His CD Brillance: virtuoso French Music for Saxophone and Piano was released in 2001. Mr. Kalyn is also an accomplished clarinetist.  He is a member of the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, and has performed many orchestras in Canada and the United States, including the Winston-Salem Symphony, the Carolina Chamber Symphony, Orchestra London, the Windsor Symphony, and the Canadian Chamber Ensemble. Accomplished also on flute and bassoon, Mr Kalyn is an experienced theater musician, and has played in numerous Toronto musical productions, including Crazy for You and Phantom of the Opera.