SOP Podcast #63 - James D. Hicks On The Nordic Journey Project

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #63! http://www.organduo.lt/podcast Today's guest is James D. Hicks from the USA who is most known for his Nordic Journey project the aim of which is to promote rarely heard and undiscovered organ music from the Nordic countries. ​Just a little over a week ago I met James in Vilnius where he for the first time in Lithuania performed music from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland as well Faroe and Åland islands on the largest pipe organ in Lithuania - Vilnius University St. John's church. His recital extremely well received by the listeners - many of them told they loved it to our security guard. Prior to that, James performed a recital of Finish music on the world-famous Walcker organ at the cathedral in Riga, Latvia. Although James spent just a weekend in Lithuania, it was enough to inspire him get to know more about the Baltic culture and perhaps to perform and record a CD of the Baltic organ music in the not too distant future. James lives and works out of Bernardsville, NJ, USA, and holds degrees in music from the Peabody Institute of Music, Yale University and the University of Cincinnati. Other studies include instruction at the Royal School of Church Music in England. He is an Associate of the American Guild of Organists. Hicks held liturgical positions throughout the eastern United States, and in 2011 retired after twenty‐six years of service at The Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey. In this conversation, James talks about his passion for Nordic Journey project. Enjoy and share your comments below. ​ And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. Thanks for caring. Relevant links: http://www.jamesdhicks.com http://www.hicksnordichike.com http://​www.proorgano.com