James Koo is an award-winning percussionist who has dedicated much of his artistry to the promotion of Traditional Chinese music through the contemporary classical genre. His performances and recordings have both been officially published by PSNY and have won multiple awards.

He is the 2023 concerto winner at the University of Michigan and the Eugene Bossart Prize performing the Chen Yi Percussion Concerto with the University Symphony Orchestra in the same year. In 2022 his recording of Trans - Lei Liang (2013) was featured and awarded in the Black Swamp Multi Percussion Showcase. In 2021 his recording of Dialectal Percussions - Lei Liang (1994) was awarded at the Chicago International Music Festival for Best Work by an Asian Composer. Recent collaborations include performing Le Espaces Acoustiques - Gerard Grisey with Ensemble Intercontemporain in 2021. In 2022 he was a featured soloist performing All Rise with Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz At Lincoln Centre Orchestra. Additionally, he has performed and worked with Silk Road Ensemble member and grammy award-winning artist, Kaoru Watanabe.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, James began his percussion studies at age six where he was enrolled in the Traditional Chinese Percussion program at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts studying with Yim Hok Man and Chau Chin Tung. In 2022 he graduated cum laude and received his B.M at The Boston Conservatory studying with Doug Perkins, Nancy Zeltsman, Samuel Solomon, Kyle Brightwell, Jon Bisesi, and Matt Smallcomb. He is currently a Graduate Student Instructor at the University of Michigan and is pursuing a Master of Music at the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. His Primary instructors are Doug Perkins, Ian Antonio, Nancy Zeltsman, Tom Sherwood and Jeremy Epp.