Aaron James (organist)

Charles Aaron James
FRCCO
Born (1986-09-01) 1 September 1986
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nationality Canadian
Other names
  • Aaron James
  • C. Aaron James
Occupation organist
Academic background
Alma mater
Thesis Transforming the motet: Sigmund Salminger and the adaptation and reuse of Franco-Flemish polyphony in Reformation Augsburg (2016)
Doctoral advisor Honey Meconi
Academic work
Discipline musicologist
Institutions
Main interests

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

Biography

Aaron James was born in Toronto, Ontario.[1] After earning a Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance from the University of Western Ontario in 2009, he attended the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, where he successively completed a Master of Music in Organ Performance and Literature in 2011, a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ Performance and Literature in 2015,[2] and a Doctor of Philosophy in musicology in 2016.[3] He became a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists by examination in 2012,[4] having received a first in the RCCO National Organ Playing Competition the previous year.[5] He studied organ with Paul Merritt (University of Western Ontario); and with Hans Davidsson and Edoardo Bellotti (Eastman School of Music).[6]

James is also a noted performer of contemporary music, having given national or world premieres of numerous new compositions, including works by Emily Hall, Martin Herchenröder, Michael Nyman, Daniel Ochoa and Kyle Quarles.[6] He is also an accomplished pianist.[7]

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 Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, Parkdale, 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]

Other Activities

James is reported to be the creator of many anonymously-authored and often satirical internet oddities, including "The Low Churchman's Guide to the Solemn High Mass",[12] and several parody personality quizzes, including "Which Mid-Twentieth-Century Anglican Theologian Are You?",[13] "Which Evensong Canticle Setting Are You?",[14] and "Which Early Christian Heresy Are You?"[15] He is noted for his adept prose, his keen knack for stylistic mimicry, and his penchant for absurdist humour.[16]

Among his other comedic efforts, James has occasionally made recordings of himself playing the organ while wearing oven mitts. On such occasions, he uses the stage name "Captain Oven Mitts".[17][18]

Publications

James's academic research has focused on the early history of the motet:

  • James, Aaron (March 2014). "The apotheosis of the Salve regina and the purpose of Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Mus.ms. 34". Journal of the Alamire Foundation. 6 (1): 33–68. doi:10.1484/J.JAF.1.103836. ISSN 2032-5371.
  • James, Aaron (March 2016). "Review of Giovanni Croce, ed. First Book of Motets for Eight Voices and Organ". Renaissance Quarterly. 69 (1): 345–347. doi:10.1086/686416. ISSN 0034-4338.
  • James, Charles Aaron (September 2016). "Transforming the motet: Sigmund Salminger and the adaptation and reuse of Franco-Flemish polyphony in Reformation Augsburg". University of Rochester. hdl:1802/31275.
  • James, Aaron (31 October 2017). "Salve regina Barbara: the adaptation and reuse of Marian motets". Early Music. 45 (2): 217–230. doi:10.1093/em/cax024. ISSN 0306-1078.

References

  1. ↑ James, Charles Aaron (September 2016). "Transforming the motet: Sigmund Salminger and the adaptation and reuse of Franco-Flemish polyphony in Reformation Augsburg". University of Rochester: ii. hdl:1802/31275.
  2. ↑ James, C. Aaron (15 June 2015). The Crisis of Chant Performance in Nineteenth-Century Paris. hdl:1802/29680.
  3. ↑ "Aaron James - Organ". Organix 12. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  4. ↑ "Fellows of the College by examination" (PDF). Royal Canadian College of Organists. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "Competitions". Royal Canadian College of Organists. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 Morehouse, Joel (January 2015). "Aaron James – Organist Biography". American Guild of Organists, Syracuse Chapter. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Swihart, Matthew; Wooldridge King, Jessica; James, Aaron (13 October 2014). Hindemith Concerto for Trumpet and Bassoon movements 2 and 3.
  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.
  12. ↑ "The Low Churchman's Guide to the Solemn High Mass". Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  13. ↑ "Which Mid-Twentieth-Century Anglican Theologian Are You?". Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "Which Evensong Canticle Setting Are You?". Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  15. ↑ "Which Early Christian Heresy Are You?". Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  16. ↑ Interview with Dr Sarah Hogarth Rossiter, 4 September 2018.
  17. ↑ James, Aaron (24 July 2015). Captain Oven Mitts Plays Organ Favourites (Bach's Toccata in D minor). Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  18. ↑ James, Aaron (19 April 2015). Happy Birthday. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
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