Jim was born post WWII on a military base in California, the son of a Lieutenant Colonel father and a singer mother. His preschool years took them to Alamogordo, New Mexico and then to Kenosha, Wisconsin. Wisconsin being the State where his mother’s family lived.
Jim and his sibling thrived in Kenosha which was a very strong music town in the 1950’s and 60’s. Kenosha offered many performing groups for children. There were multiple large bands, orchestras, and drum and bugle corps during his school years. Most children in this southeast Wisconsin city wanted to be and were part of a performing group.
Music Is The Draw
Jim was drawn to the trumpet and began playing when he was 10 years old. He consistently outshined his peers and was awarded the John Phillip Sousa medal his senior year.
It was on to the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee to study music. He obtained a degree in Music Education, the safe choice, though always knew that he would be a performer. His love of performing drew him to study at Northwestern University music school, to study with players from the Chicago Symphany and obtain a master’s degree in applied Trumpet.
Upon graduation he returned to Milwaukee to play utility trumpet with the Milwaukee Symphony, Melody Top Theater, and Newberry Brass Quintet. He also taught at the Milwaukee Conservatory of Music and the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee for a brief period.
Making Music
It was in his twenties that he wrote Children’s Medley for his Brass Quintet to perform. He also did transcribing for the Melody Top Theater singer parts. His true love was performance and his favorite group the Milwaukee Symphony, which he played with for 26 years.
Create anything
Jim’s talents went well beyond music and launched him into the world of computers and programing in the late 1970’s. He self-taught basic computer programing and put to market the first computer typewriter for music titled Music Type. This rudimentary product sold worldwide. That product helped him launch two facial composite programs for law enforcement, the first in the world. His product Mac-a-Mug Pro replaced the manual process used by police departments worldwide.
Writing
In 2000 he rediscovered the pieces he had written in his 20’s and decided to spend the rest of his life writing for other musicians. Jim started with Children’s Medley and with the help of Eighth Note Publishing, Brass Works Publishing, and Cherry Publishing, he put his early music to market.
Today Jim has written, arranged, and published close to 500 pieces of music for numerous musical groups.
James Haynor Sheet Music 