James Ancona is an associate professor of music at the University of Delaware. He is the assistant director of the Fightin' Blue Hen Marching Band, director of the Basketball Pep Band and co-director of the Symphonic Band. Mr. Ancona received his Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his Master of Music in Performance from Indiana University, where he was awarded the prestigious Performer's Certificate. His former teachers include Gerald Carlyss, Thomas Hannum, William Roberts, Peter Tanner and Leigh Howard Stevens.

Mr. Ancona has more than 30 years of experience as a composer and instructor for world-class drum and bugle corps. He is currently a percussion advisor for the Boston Crusaders. He has served on the instructional staff and as a caption head for championship percussion sections and corps including Star of Indiana, The Cadets, Santa Clara Vanguard and The Cavaliers.

Several of Mr. Ancona’s percussion arrangements appeared on the Tony and Emmy award-winning Broadway show Blast. He also has several arrangements published by Tapspace Publications. Mr. Ancona is the co-author of the popular front ensemble text, Up Front: A Complete Resource for Today's Pit Ensemble and author of Up Front Etudes. He is an endorser and clinician for the Avedis Zildjian Company, Remo, Pearl drums and Adams percussion, and a signature artist for Innovative Percussion, Inc. Mr. Ancona has presented educational and performance clinics around the world.​​​