James Helme Sutcliffe

James Helme Sutcliffe (born November 26, 1929 in Suzhou China; died December 11, 2000 in Berlin) was an American composer and music critic.

Born in 1929 in Suzhou, China, James Helme Sutcliffe escaped in 1941 after the Japanese attack on China with his parents to Australia. He received his first musical education (piano, viola and music theory) at Geelong College from George Logie-Smith and later at Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music from Roy Shepherd.

After moving to the United States he studied piano and composition at Juilliard School in New York (Bachelor of Science Degree in May 1953) and at Eastman School of Music. For four years he taught at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and went then to Europe where he continued his studies as répétiteur at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, in Bayreuth and in Köln (Cologne).

Since 1963 he lived in Berlin and worked among his activities as composer, teacher for piano, composition and music theory foremost as a music critic for the International Herald Tribune as soon as for many important opera magazines like Opera Magazine, Opera News, Opera Canada, Musical America and Opernwelt.

His works were performed by musicians like Alexander Frey, Steven Isserlis and Wolfgang Boettcher. His "Academic Festival March", is the alma mater of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Loy Witherspoon, professor of religious studies, commissioned the March in 1965 when he learned that Charlotte College would become a campus in the University of North Carolina system. The March was first performed in 1967 at the installation of Dean W. Colvard as UNC Charlotte's first chancellor. Afterwards, it was performed as a recessional at every Commencement during Dean W. Colvard's as chancellor. When UNC Charlotte founder Bonnie Cone heard the March, she said, "I can hear an alma mater in it," referring to a hymn-like refrain. Dr. Robert Rieke, a professor of history, also heard an alma mater in it. On a 1990 trip to Germany, Rieke visited Sutcliffe, picked up a recording of the March, and began writing words to fit the final refrain. On Christmas Eve 1991, he sent Bonnie Cone the words and music as a Christmas present to her and to the university, from which he had retired a year earlier. Chancellor James. H. Woodward approved the composition as the university's Alma Mater in April 1992. It was sung for the first time at the following May Commencement and has been performed at every Commencement since.

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