[1] He conducted his first orchestra on May 8, 1945 in Guthrie Center - the day Germany surrendered, ending World War II in Europe.
He studied for nine years under his mentor, the distinguished Greek conductor, pianist, and composer Dimitris Mitropoulos.
[4] Dixon then served as the assistant conductor of the Minnesota Orchestra for a year before returning to the University of Iowa in 1962.
The symphony became the first public performance of the orchestral work of Burgess, and it significantly increased his composing activity.
[5] During Dixon's tenure at Iowa, the International Society for Contemporary Music met for the first time in the United States (in 1976).
[3] In 1965 James Dixon replaced Charles Gigante as the music director and conductor of the Tri-City Symphony Orchestra in Davenport, Iowa.