Jim Loughery is a pianist, composer, arranger, author, and teacher active in Cincinnati and the Midwest.  

As pianist, Loughery’s performances have been praised as having “brilliance”, “possessing both vigor and panache” and for being “riveting” by the New York Times and Jay Harvey Upstage, notably his premieres of the contemporary piano music of Michael Schelle, of whose work Straight, No Lithium Loughery gave the U.S. premiere in 2012 at New York City’s Symphony Space. Loughery’s abilities with classical, contemporary and jazz styles have earned him experience in a wide range of groups and settings including orchestras, big bands, jazz outfits, rock and folk bands, and songwriter collaborations. As a recording artist, Loughery has been featured as soloist and sideman on various projects, and has recorded for NPR’s audio documentary Echoes of Indiana Avenue. Loughery is active in the local Cincinnati jazz scene as soloist and collaborator, his trio performing regularly at Symphony Hotel downtown Cincinnati (Jim Loughery Trio), and is a regular performer at local series such as Classical Revolution, Music Live at Lunch, and Trinity Music Series. 

As composer, Loughery’s music has been described as “soul-searching”, “deep and beautiful”, and “having deep wisdom”. His compositions have earned many distinctions, including a 2000 performance of his composition Flight at the Indianapolis 500 Victory Awards Banquet alongside violinist Joshua Bell. In 2018, Loughery’s composition To Bardo was performed at the grand opening of the Midwest Composer’s Festival, and in 2020 his composition as winged branches, adrift, apart was performed by clarinetist Thomas Piercy for New Music USA’s concert series “Tokyo to New York”. Loughery is regularly commissioned for new works, and has enjoyed past commissions by artists such as percussionist Michael Barnes and intermedia artist C.T. Hankins. 

As pedagogue, Loughery takes a creative approach to teaching aimed at encouraging personal expression, fostering strong individual technique and musical understanding, and inspiring a deeper love of music and engagement with the arts. Using a vast repertoire of artists, styles, and teaching materials, and creating personal arrangements for students, James also incorporates improvisation and composition into lessons resulting in many of his students learning how to expand on materials and make their own arrangements, as well as many writing and performing their first compositions. Students of Loughery’s studio have won awards such as NFMC’s 2024 Junior Composer’s Contest in state, regional, and national levels, and many have continued on into advanced studies at places such as Berklee College of Music as well as careers in music. Loughery is an active member of M.T.N.A. and O.M.T.A. and is on the faculty of the Cincinnati Music Academy where he maintains a studio. Loughery is the author of the Jim's Gems series, a repertoire series of of genre-spanning piano arrangements for intermediate levels featuring classical, jazz, pop/rock, video games/anime, film themes, and seasonal styles, continuing to release more in the series. 

Holding an M.M. in Composition from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Loughery studied jazz with Steve Allee and composition with Michael Fiday and Ellen Harrison, having previously studied composition with Michael Schelle at Butler University, as well as composition with John Berners and piano with Richard Ratliff at the University of Indianapolis where he holds a B.M. in Piano Performance and Composition.