James Cornish is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and third-generation native of Detroit.  He is the composer of three operas, including an opera using the ancient Sumerian epic of Gudea, which debuted in 2011 at the Detroit Institute of Arts.  James also writes operas based from contemporary urban poetry.

James is the recipient of state and national arts grants, including American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius (2009).  He was commissioned to compose a series of dance pieces in public spaces in Detroit (2011).  He curates the experimental music series Radical Sounds Detroit at the Detroit Contemporary gallery.