Our Founder
James Craft
James Craft founded Craft Music with a simple but far-reaching belief: music education should be deeply human, creatively alive, and built around real connection.
As a teacher and composer, James has spent years helping students of all ages grow not only in technical ability, but in confidence, imagination, and self-expression. Craft Music was built from that same vision — a music school and community where students are guided by highly skilled teachers who care about the whole person, not just the lesson plan.
James sees music as both a technical art and an expressive language. At Craft Music, students are encouraged to build strong foundations in rhythm, technique, listening, and theory while also exploring improvisation, composition, collaboration, and the music they genuinely love. That balance — structure and freedom, discipline and creativity — is at the heart of the school’s philosophy.
Beyond teaching, James has worked as a songwriter, performer, film composer, and classical composer. His broad musical life continues to shape the spirit of Craft Music: open-minded, artistically serious, and welcoming to many styles, traditions, and paths of learning.
James studied at the University of Notre Dame, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and the USC Thornton School of Music. His academic and artistic background informs Craft Music’s emphasis on high-level teaching, thoughtful pedagogy, and meaningful artistic growth.
Under James’s direction, Craft Music has grown into a vibrant community serving students through in-home lessons, online learning, workshops, recitals, school partnerships, and collaborative music experiences. What began as a teaching practice has become a broader mission: to help students find their voice through music and to create spaces where learning feels rigorous, personal, and inspiring.
James continues to guide Craft Music with a focus on three core values:
Technique
Strong musical foundations matter. Students need real tools, real fluency, and real guidance.
Creativity
Music is not just about accuracy. It is a medium for expression, imagination, and discovery.
Community
Music comes alive when it is shared. Craft Music is committed to building connection through collaboration, performance, and human exchange.
At the center of all of it is James’s belief that music can be transformative — not only artistically, but personally. Craft Music exists to help students grow into more confident musicians, more expressive artists, and more engaged human beings.
Welcome to Craft Music.
