Jim O’Leary is a composer from Windsor, Newfoundland. After completing undergraduate studies in percussion performance, Jim turned his focus to composition; studying in Sweden with composer Jan Sandström. After several years working in Stockholm, he returned to academia, obtaining an MPhil at Cambridge, followed by a Ph. D from Queens University, Belfast.

Jim was Composer-in-Residence with the PEI Symphony Orchestra 2011–2013. His current artistic project concerns the Beothuk, the extinct indigenous people of Newfoundland. Jim lives in Charlottetown, PEI.