Aaron James (organist)

Charles Aaron James FRCCO (born 1 September 1986) is a Canadian musicologist, organist, pianist and composer.

Charles Aaron James

FRCCO
Born (1986-09-01) 1 September 1986
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Other names
  • Aaron James
  • C. Aaron James
Occupationorganist
Academic background
Alma mater
ThesisTransforming the motet: Sigmund Salminger and the adaptation and reuse of Franco-Flemish polyphony in Reformation Augsburg (2016)
Doctoral advisorHoney Meconi
Academic work
Disciplinemusicologist
Institutions
Main interests

Early life and education

Aaron James was born in Toronto, Ontario.[1] He studied organ performance at the University of Western Ontario,[2] earning a Bachelor of Music in 2009. He attended the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, where he completed a Master of Music in Organ Performance and Literature in 2011, a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance and Literature in 2015,[3] and a Doctor of Philosophy in musicology in 2016.[4]

James became a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists by examination in 2012,[5] having received a first in the RCCO National Organ Playing Competition the previous year.[6] He studied organ with Paul Merritt of the University of Western Ontario, as well as with Hans Davidsson and Edoardo Bellotti of the Eastman School of Music.[7]

Career

James served as Director of Music at St Mary's Church in Auburn, New York, where he reinaugurated the parish's restored 1890 Carl Barckhoff pipe organ.[8][9] He also taught music history and theory at the University of Rochester. In 2017, James became the organist and director of music at the Holy Family Roman Catholic Church in Toronto, where he directs a children's choir, the professional Toronto Oratory Choir, and the St. Philip's Seminary Schola Cantorum.[10] He also teaches organ literature for the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto.[11]

James is also a performer of contemporary music, having given national or world premieres of new compositions, including works by Emily Hall, Martin Herchenröder, Michael Nyman, Daniel Ochoa and Kyle Quarles.[7] He also performs on the piano.

References
  1. James, Charles Aaron (September 2016). Transforming the motet: Sigmund Salminger and the adaptation and reuse of Franco-Flemish polyphony in Reformation Augsburg (PhD thesis). University of Rochester. p. ii. hdl:1802/31275.
  2. The American Organist. Vol. 42. American Guild of Organists; 2008. p. 33.
  3. James, C. Aaron (15 June 2015). The Crisis of Chant Performance in Nineteenth-Century Paris. hdl:1802/29680.
  4. "Aaron James - Organ". Organix 12. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  5. "Fellows of the College by examination" (PDF). Royal Canadian College of Organists. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  6. "Competitions". Royal Canadian College of Organists. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  7. Morehouse, Joel (January 2015). "Aaron James – Organist Biography". American Guild of Organists, Syracuse Chapter. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  8. Lioi, Frank (19 March 2017). "The return of the mighty Barckhoff to Auburn's St. Mary's Church". Auburn Citizen. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  9. Wilcox, David (5 February 2015). "Organic matter: St. Mary's Church to host concert of secular music on historic instrument". Auburn Citizen. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  10. "Choirs". The Toronto Oratory. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  11. "Faculty of Music Calendar" (PDF). 2018. p. 5. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
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