Fr. James Chepponis is a priest of the Pittsburgh Diocese, ordained in 1985. He received his bachelor's degree in music from St. Fidelis College/Slippery Rock University, with a major in organ and a minor in voice. Chepponis received a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Systematic Theology from Mount St. Mary's Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Chepponis served the Pittsburgh diocese as Director of the Office of Music Ministry, and his work included providing music for diocesan liturgies, directing the Diocesan Choir, coordinating the Pittsburgh chapter for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and the Director of Music Ministries Division, and serving as music resource person for parishes throughout the Pittsburgh Diocese.

In 1999, Chepponis was appointed Music Director at Pittsburgh's St. Paul Cathedral, where he serves as choir director and works to expand the cathedral's music ministry. He leads workshops on pastoral music throughout the country, and participated in the creation of the document "The Milwaukee Symposia for Church Composers: A Ten-Year Report." His published articles on liturgy and music have appeared in Pastoral Music, The Hymn, and GIA Quarterly. Chepponis has over sixty published compositions many of which are featured on the GIA recordings, Cry Out with Joy, Songs of Jubilation, and Jubilation Mass: Ritual Music for the Liturgy. He served as one of the five editors working on GIA's Worship IV hymnal.

Requests for workshops are handled on an individual basis with limited availability.