Dr. James Winn, piano and composition professor at the University of Nevada, Reno since 1997, made his professional debut with the Denver Symphony at the age of thirteen, and has been performing widely in North America, Europe, and Japan ever since. With his duo-piano partner, Cameron Grant, he was a recipient of the top prize given in the two-piano category of the 1980 Munich Competition. Dr. Winn has been a solo pianist with the New York City Ballet, a member of the New York New Music Ensemble, and of Hexagon (woodwind quintet plus piano), as well as a frequent guest with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Speculum, the Washington Square Contemporary Music Series, the Chamber Music Society of Sacramento, the Group for Contemporary Music, and Bargemusic.

Well-known as a specialist in new music, he has been involved in numerous world premieres and premiere recordings by many renowned composers, among them 13 Pulitzer Prize winners (John Adams, Michael Colgrass, Mario Davidovsky, Norman Dello Joio, Jacob Druckman, Aaron Kernis, George Perle, Wayne Peterson, Mel Powell, Joseph Schwantner, Melinda Wagner, Charles Wuorinen, and Ellen Zwilich). He is currently a member of Argenta, UNR's resident chamber trio, the pianist of the Telluride Chamber Music Festival, and performs regularly in recital with internationally acclaimed New York based violinist Rolf Schulte.

An active recording artist, Winn is featured in more than three dozen CDs as soloist, chamber musician, and composer. Dr. Winn's compositions have been performed internationally. He has received the University of Nevada -Reno College of Liberal Arts' Mousel/Feltner award for creative activity, an Artist Fellowship Grant in composition from the Nevada Arts Council, the 2007 Award for Creative Activity from Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education, and the 2009 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts.