James Wilt joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic in March 2003 as Associate Principal trumpet. Prior to this, Wilt spent 14 years as the associate principal trumpet of the Houston Symphony. Wilt has also held positions with the New York Philharmonic, the Denver Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, and the Dayton Philharmonic. Wilt has recorded with all of these orchestras and with the Eastman Philharmonia and Wind Ensemble.

Although primarily an orchestral musician, Wilt has performed a wide range of solo and chamber music, including three solo appearances with the Houston Symphony and appearances on the New York Philharmonic’s chamber music series. Since joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic, he has performed regularly on the Philharmonic's Green Umbrella series. Wilt was most recently featured with the Philharmonic in June of 2004, playing the solo trumpet part of Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1. He has also performed with Da Camera and the Greenbriar Consortium and has participated in the Grand Teton and Colorado music festivals. In 1999 and 2002, Wilt traveled to Japan to perform as principal trumpet of the Super World Orchestra at the Tokyo Music Festival as part of an orchestra of musicians selected from around the world.

Wilt graduated magna cum laude from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Eugene Blee. His graduate work was done at the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with Charles Geyer. He has taught at the University of Northern Colorado and at Rice University's Shepherd School of Music.