James Willey

James H. Willey (born October 6, 1939 in Lynn, Massachusetts – February 21, 2026), was a composer. He began composing at an early age and attended the Eastman School of Music, earning a bachelor's degree in 1961, a master's in 1963, and his Ph.D. in Music Theory and Composition in 1972. He studied composition with Bernard Rogers and Howard Hanson.

In 1964, Willey went to the Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gunther Schuller. and the Tremont String Quartet. His place in American music has also been recognized by his peers in academia; his works have been performed at institutions and music academies across the country, including the Eastman School of Music, Ithaca College, Boston University, Williams College, Syracuse University, Michigan State University and the University of Miami.

He has won three National Endowment for the Arts Composer Fellowships, held residencies at the Yaddo artists' colony in Saratoga Springs, New York, a fellowship at the Composers' Conference in Johnson, Vermont, and was a semi-finalist for the 1991 Kennedy Center/Friedheim Awards. .