Active regionally, nationally, and internationally as a soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, clinician, and jazz/commercial performer, James Romain embraces diverse genres of music. He actively contributes to the growing body of compositions and pedagogical literature for the instrument through his pursuit of commissions, recording projects, and published articles.

Dr. Romain is active as a jazz performer and educator, appearing weekly at Noce Jazz & Cabaret as lead alto saxophonist with the Des Moines Big Band for the past 20 years, lead tenor saxophonist with the Turner Center Jazz Orchestra, and with a variety of jazz small groups. Additionally, he is the baritone saxophonist with the New Third Stream Quartet. He has also performed with Clark Terry, Ron Miles, Eric Gunnison, and at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. As an in-demand doubler (saxophones, flutes, clarinets), he regularly performs in pit orchestras for touring productions at the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, and with entertainers such as Johnny Mathis, Idina Menzel, and Ben Folds at venues including Minneapolis’s Orchestra Hall.

Dr. Romain has been invited to present premiere performances at nearly every World Saxophone Congress since 2003 (Minneapolis, Ljubljana, Bangkok, Scotland, and Strasbourg). In addition, he regularly performs as invited soloist at regional and national biennial conferences of the North American Saxophone Alliance, and at festivals and symposia throughout the United States and abroad. He has firmly established a national and international reputation as a committed advocate for new music, with 41 commissions, co-commissions, and dedications written, performed, and recorded as a direct result of his efforts. His discography of 18 recordings spans two decades and numerous genres of music.

As an orchestral saxophonist, James Romain performs regularly with the Minnesota Orchestra, including their historic 2015 tour to Havana, Cuba, and a performance of Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto in August of 2010 at London’s Royal Albert Hall on the BBC Proms series. He toured in early 2023 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, directed by Maestro Riccardo Muti, and in 2018 with the St. Louis Symphony. Dr. Romain is the first-call saxophonist of the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he has performed with the Houston Symphony, the Wyoming Symphony, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, as well as with the Champaign-Urbana and U of I Orchestras.

James Romain serves as Professor of Saxophone and Associate Director of Jazz Studies at Drake University in Des Moines, IA, where he served as chair of the music department from 2018 until 2025. Romain holds a D.M.A. from the University of Illinois, and M.M. and B.M. degrees from the University of North Texas. Dr. Romain is a Conn-Selmer and Selmer Paris Artist and is heard exclusively on Selmer Paris saxophones. As a D’Addario Artist, he also performs on D’Addario reeds and mouthpieces. Dr. Romain served for a decade as national Membership Director for the North American Saxophone Alliance.