Dr. James Moore began serving West Virginia Wesleyan College as Interim President in February 2022 before being named President in March 2023. A member of the Wesleyan Community since 2006, Dr. Moore embodies the spirit of the College through leadership, expertise, insight, energy, and vision, continuing the longstanding tradition of excellence found within the student body, faculty, and staff. Prior to his role as President, Dr. Moore served as Dean of the Faculty and Chief Academic Officer from 2017 to 2022, as Chair of the Department of Music from 2011 to 2017, and as Director of Jazz Ensembles and instructor of trumpet from 2006 to 2017. As a music educator, he built one of the most vibrant collegiate jazz programs in the region.

Dr. Moore is an active member of the Pittsburgh jazz community where he is a member of the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra and has been a member of RH Factor—the Roger Humphries quintet. In addition to his work in Pittsburgh he performs regularly with the Norman David Eleventet in Philadelphia as well as many other collaborative ventures in that city. He has performed with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra, the Bob Mintzer Big Band, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Ahmad Jamal, Sheryl Bailey, Tim Warfield, and the Lars Halle Jazz Orchestra. Dr. Moore appeared on Bob Mintzer’s GRAMMY nominated album For the Moment, released on the MCG Jazz label in 2012. He also appears on Mintzer’s joint album with the critically acclaimed New York Voices, Meeting of Minds (Live), also on MCG Jazz. In 2015, he appeared alongside NEA Jazz Master Phil Woods and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in a reprisal of the famous Charlie Parker and Clifford Brown with strings recordings.

Dr. Moore is also a practicing clinician, having worked with many high school honors jazz ensembles throughout West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Western Maryland. He has presented master classes at countless high schools and colleges throughout the nation. He is a member of the Artist Faculty of the National Trumpet Competition, and he serves on the research review board of the International Trumpet Guild. His articles on jazz trumpet pedagogy have been published by the Australian and International Trumpet Guilds.

Dr. Moore holds a Master of Music in Jazz Studies from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and is the first recipient of the Doctor of Philosophy in Jazz Studies from the University of Pittsburgh where his advisor was Dr. Nathan T. Davis—founder of the original Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra. 

A proud native of West Virginia, Dr. Moore grew up in Morgantown and spent considerable time in Elkins visiting his grandparents, where music was always a central part of life. He is the son of Paul and Linda Moore, and brother of Becky. He is an avid cyclist, hockey player, and, in recent years, has begun to enjoy gardening. He’s also not a bad cook and enjoys working on cars when he can find the right how-to videos on YouTube.

Tuesday, September 26
Oktoberfest Dinner Party – 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. on the Benedum Student Center patio. Traditional German
cuisine courtesy of Aladdin Food Services. Music by the Edelweiss Band, sponsored by Arts Alive! This
event is open to the public. Dinner is $12 (cash only, please, and exact change is welcome).

Thursday, Sept. 28 
Evening of Jazz – 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center. Music by the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra. This event is free and open to the public.

Friday, September 29
Founders Day Convocation and Investiture Ceremony – 11:00am in Wesley Chapel. Inauguration of Dr.
Moore as the 20th president of West Virginia Wesleyan College.
Homecoming Kick-Off and Inauguration Celebration – 8:00pm at the 88 Restaurant’s Peak Pavilion.
Refreshments are provided, with a cash bar on site.

BUCKHANNON, West Virginia  – West Virginia Wesleyan College is pleased to announce an Evening of Jazz with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra as part of the Presidential Inauguration and Homecoming celebration.  The concert takes place on Thursday, Sept.  28, at 7 p.m. in the Virginia Thomas Law Center for the Performing Arts.  Admission is free and the public is invited to attend. 

Dr. James Moore, the College’s 20th president, will perform on trumpet with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra (PJO) as part of his inauguration week activities.  He is a member of PJO and section leader for trumpets.  

The Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra was originally founded in 1975 by Dr. Nathan T. Davis, a world renowned jazz saxophonist and director of jazz studies at the University of Pittsburgh. The group was conceived as a vehicle for the celebration and furtherance of America’s original art form.

After several years, the ensemble disbanded, but was revived with Dr. Davis’ blessing by trumpeter Sean Jones in 2008. Jones assembled some of Pittsburgh’s finest young and veteran musicians and refocused the orchestra, which became the house ensemble of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center from 2008 through 2013. In addition to celebrating the music and arrangements of jazz music’s pivotal creators, the ensemble also features the music of one of its members, Mike Tomaro, lead-alto saxophonist and director of jazz studies at Duquesne University. Tomaro is widely considered one of the preeminent writers in jazz today.

Since its revival, PJO has recorded and performed with some of the most important musicians in the history of jazz, including Jimmy Heath, Benny Golson, Christian McBride, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Freddie Cole, Hubert Law, and Rufus Reid.

For this special inauguration concert, Dr. Moore has selected a program that will feature some of his favorite pieces from the PJO repertoire, and will include many of what he considers Mike Tomaro’s best arrangements. Moore has also commissioned a special piece of music to commemorate his inauguration and to celebrate the rich history of jazz at WVWC.

Admission to the concert is free and the public is invited to attend and enjoy this historic event at West Virginia Wesleyan College.