James Ra’s music has been described as “coursing with adrenaline-pumping energy.” Of the New Jersey Symphony performance of Awakened Spirit, The Star Ledger wrote, “Once it caught sight of the end...it was a fast sprint to the tape.” In Japan, when the Curtis Chamber Orchestra took his Concerto Grosso No. 1 on tour, they wrote: “the Concerto Grosso No. 1 had a tremendous impact on the audience. Its themes of love, life, and death were dramatically expressed.” This work subsequently aired on National Public Radio. The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, “This is a composer to watch.”

Recent commissions include Te Deum by The Curtis Institute of Music, for the Curtis Symphony, Fantasia on Sae Taryung, a piano concerto for Min Kwon and the New Jersey Symphony, and Concerto for Three Violas and Strings by the New York Classical Players. He has received commissions and performances from many recognized artists such as Soovin Kim, Ju Young Baek, Julius Jeongwon Kim, Dami Kim, Patrick Jee, Michelle Kim, Jooyoung Oh and the Arditti Quartet among many others. His music has been performed by various members of the Philadelphia Orchestra, NY Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and Seoul Philharmonic in such venues as Carnegie Hall, Verizon Hall, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia Convention Center, Jordan Hall, Weill Hall, the Kaufmann Center, Herbst Theatre in San Francisco, Seoul Arts Hall, IBK Hall in Seoul, Arts Hall in Busan, Daejeon Arts Hall, Tong Yeong International Music Festival, as well as in France, India and Turkey. His music has been recorded on the Stomp (EMI), Urtext and Sony labels (Sony Korea). Upcoming commissions include a double concerto for the New York Classical Players, an orchestral work for the New Jersey Youth Orchestra, a work for the New York Flutists, a saxophone work for Wonki Lee, and a cello work for Jiwon Suh.

He was the Young Composer-in-Residence at Music From Angel Fire under the direction of Ida Kavafian and Composer-in-Residence for groups such as the Korean Concert Society in Washington D.C., Ensemble 212 in New York, and currently Ensemble V9 in Korea. He has been a fellow at Princeton University as part of their Atelier under the direction of Toni Morrison.

Ra is the recipient of a MacDowell residency, the International NPSS Composition Concours Grand Prize, the Manhattan Prize, the Franklin & Marshall College Composition Prize, the Louisa Knapp Fellowship, the John Brenton Fellowship, a scholarship to the Aspen Music Festival, a fellowship at the Academy of Villecroze, and was a winner of the New Jersey Symphony Composition & Conducting Institute Competition.

Born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, his teachers include Richard Danielpour, Ned Rorem, George Tsontakis and John Carbon, Simon Andrews, and Seung Jae Chung. He holds degrees from Franklin and Marshall College (BM), the Curtis Institute of Music (Diploma) and the Manhattan School of Music (MM & DMA).