I am deeply honoured—and beyond excited and inspired!—to begin serving as the first Composer-in-Residence to the Muskoka Philharmonic Orchestra as it begins its fourth season in the fall of 2026.

When Alana & Anna Nuedling launched a small, fledgling performing ensemble in 2022, little did they know it would evolve over three concert seasons into a full orchestra with a growing roster of more than 30 talented, dedicated amateur & professional musicians.

Now presenting three concerts each year to enthusiastic audiences across Muskoka, the MPO is broadening the scope of its mission in the region to include several new initiatives designed to expand the vibrant artistic and educational content it brings to our local community. And this is where I happily get to join in the fun.

In my four decades as a professionally active composer of concert music, I have held two multi-year positions as Composer-in-Residence: one to the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra in Virginia, just outside Washington DC (1993-96); and the other to the Bay-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra in New Jersey (1998-2003). In addition to composing several new works each season for those orchestras, I presented user-friendly lectures in the community and offered lessons in music composition to aspiring local students. I intend to do much the same here at home in Muskoka, with special emphasis on developing a small studio of committed composition students, of any age, who will find themselves composing music specifically for players in our orchestra.

If you or anyone you know is interested in learning what studying music composition is all about, please do contact me at jim@jamesgrantmusic.com. I’ll write you back right away.

For now, stay tuned for news about the various activities and programs I will be designing and developing in close collaboration with Artistic Director Alana and the Board Chair for the MPO. There are many exciting musical events ahead for our community, resplendent with great music-making and dynamic community engagement.

See you at the next concert!