Jim Clemens is a multi-instrumentalist and composer. In fifth grade, he performed as one of the gingerbread children in Hansel and Gretel at Goshen College in Indiana, where he later earned a degree in music. He discovered his love of accompanying during middle school, playing piano for his seventh-grade choir.

Throughout his school years and during the decades since, Jim has been involved in dozens of musical theatre shows as a rehearsal pianist, performer, and music director. He also composes a variety of music, including songs and underscoring for musicals. At Eastern Mennonite University, he wrote, arranged, and performed music for several shows, including Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. In 2015, a one-act version of Twelfth Night premiered at the DC Capital Fringe Festival, where a reviewer for DC Metro Theater Arts wrote, “The music was so dynamic and exhilarating that it almost seemed like its own character.”

Since moving to the Shenandoah Valley in 2004, Jim has accompanied various ensembles and soloists, and has directed music for shows at JMU, EMU, and Eastern Mennonite School. He is also a visual artist and jewelry maker.

Jim works as an accompanist for shows, classes, and voice lessons in JMU’s School of Theatre and Dance.