Hello! Thanks for visiting my site. I am a musician, audio producer, nature enthusiast, film lover, and board game fan, to name a few things. I love to work on projects that combine these interests, and I’m always open to new and exciting projects.

I studied classical guitar under Alissa Catlin in St. Louis and continued my studies under Anne Waller at Northwestern University. I also studied jazz under Frank Rumoro. I’ve played many different styles, including folk, classical, indie rock, jazz, and experimental. I love to go out of my comfort zone and learn new things.

While at Northwestern, I managed the student radio station, WNUR. I currently live in Glenwood Springs and work at Aspen Public Radio. My favorite part of the job at APR is field recording and producing Sonic IDs which are short audio vignettes that capture the sounds of our community. I also produce promos, underwriting, and hour-long specials, as well as managing the Ideas, Speakers, and Lecturers program, where I record local events and talks and produce them for broadcast.

I have a passion for field recording and founded Graveyard Cat Recordings, a series of naturalistic music sessions recorded in unique locations. I also build sound maps, including a community-driven, interactive sound map of the Roaring Fork Valley, which is available on aspenpublicradio.org.

I am proficient in studio recording, field recording, guitar, audio coding in MaxMSP, sound design, audio editing, music composition, mixing and mastering in most DAWs, and producing and writing for radio. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to work with me.

James Barrs