James Franklin

James Franklin is the Director of Choral Activities at East Carolina University where he conducts the internationally renowned ECU Chamber Singers, conducts the University Chorale, directs the graduate program in choral conducting, and teaches undergraduate conducting.

In June 2025, the ECU Chamber Singers will compete in the 19th International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf. Additional recent honors include invitations to perform at the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing (Varna, Bulgaria), National ACDA Conference (Kansas City, MO), National Collegiate Choral Organization Conference (Atlanta, GA), Southern ACDA Conference (Louisville, KY), and North Carolina ACDA (Raleigh, NC). In 2022, the ECU Chamber Singers were featured in a recording project with Oxford University Press for the release of RVW 150, a two-volume collection of works celebrating English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. In 2020, the ECU Chamber Singers won second place in The American Prize in Choral Performance in the college/university division. Franklin remains active as a guest conductor and clinician with frequent invitations across the United States and abroad.

In 2024, Franklin and the Chamber Singers released Silence and Music, the second consecutive album recorded with a multi GRAMMY-winning recording team. It is available on all streaming platforms. The first album, Appear and Inspire, was released on the Gothic label in 2021 and received rave reviews. Other ECU Chamber Singers albums in the Gothic Records catalogue include Eternal Light (2010) and Greater Love (2007).

In addition to his duties at ECU, Franklin is a GRAMMY-nominated choral singer. He has performed with many professional choirs including the PaTRAM Institute Male Choir, South Dakota Chorale, Taylor Festival Choir, Orpheus Chamber Singers, Saint Tikhon Choir, Dallas Bach Society, Houston Bach Society, and Fuma Sacra of New Jersey.

With a consistent commitment to learning and studying the choral craft, Franklin continues to pursue educational opportunities. He has participated in the Eric Ericson Master Class in Haarlem, The Netherlands; the Choral Conducting Master Class at the Kodály Institute in Kecskemét, Hungary; the Eric Ericson Master Class in Lund, Sweden; and the International Master Class with the Stuttgart Kammerchor in Vaison-la-Romaine, France. Conducting teachers included Eric Ericson, Frieder Bernius, Andrew Parrot, Péter Erdei, Stephen Cleobury, and Jos van Veldhoven.

He serves as co-director of traditional worship at St. James United Methodist Church. Prior to his conducting at the collegiate level, he taught public high school and middle school choir in Texas. An active member of ACDA, IFCM, TMEA and TCDA, he often serves as a clinician and adjudicator across the united states.

He received his BME, vocal emphasis, from Baylor University, his MM in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College, and his DMA degree from the University of North Texas.