James Edwards has been the orchestra director at Westlake High School in the Eanes Independent School District (ISD) in Austin, Texas since the 1998–99 school year. He is also currently co-conductor of the Austin Youth Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Edwards holds the Bachelor of Music, the Bachelor of Music Education, and the Master of Music degrees from Texas Tech University and has pursued additional musical studies at Arizona State University. The Westlake Orchestra has appeared numerous time in the Finals of State Honor Orchestra Competition and in 2003 was selected as the TMEA Honor Full Orchestra. In 2008, the Westlake Symphony Orchestra performed at the International Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. In 2010 the Orchestra received the Gold Award at Festival Disney in Orlando, Florida.