James Sanderson has been interested in building guitars since he was a young boy. He made scale models of his favorite guitars from d’Angelicos to Gibsons. In high school, James studied instrument repair and construction at his local music store in Ithaca, New York. Pursuing a degree in music education at Ithaca College, James spent time working in the in-house repair shop there while also still working at the repair shop in town.
Upon graduating, James worked as a repair technician for several years. Eventually recognizing his love of the technical side of music and his love of teaching, James returned to academic studies at SUNY Oswego to become a technology teacher. With a Master’s degree in technology education, James has been teaching technology for more than 20 years ranging from basic shop skills and techniques to advanced CAD skills working with CNC machines.
In recent years, James has combined his love of luthiery and teaching by guiding dozens of students through the process of building their own ukuleles from scratch. Throughout this time, James has continued to hone his own skills as a luthier continuing to stoke his love of building finely crafted string instruments.