Sat, July 12th at 10 pm, St. John’s church
NORDIC JOURNEY
James D. Hicks (USA), organ
Arrangements of folk songs, jazz-arrangement of Oscar Peterson, Gade, Isólfsson, Ore, Willscher, Leifs, Mikkelsen, Sixten, Takle
James D. Hicks is a concert organist living and working in the USA. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, Yale University, and the University of Cincinnati, Hicks has also studied at the Royal School of Church Music in the UK. James held liturgical positions throughout the USA over the course of 35 years and now devotes himself to concert, publishing, and recording projects.
Over the past 15 years, James has researched the music of the Nordic lands and the result is an ongoing venture entitled Nordic Journey. The endeavor places emphasis on new music, he has commissioned over seventy compositions from Nordic composers and other musicians in Northern Europe, as well as researching repertoire from the past that has hitherto never been recorded or published. With the 2024 release of Nordic Journey Volume XVII / North Atlantic Voyage, the series now comprises 28 (!) discs, all produced for the American label Pro Organo.
A parallel aspect of the Nordic Journey project is the production of hardbound editions that include premiere publications of many of the works James has commissioned as well as several previously unavailable compositions from earlier eras.
New recording projects in 2025 have included the double-disc Nordic Journey XVIII / Echoes Of The Baltic Sea, a program featuring music from countries bordering that body of water, recorded in February 2025 at Central Pori Church in Finland… and which also includes the works by Estonian composers Peeter Süda, Urmas Sisask, and Peeter Vähi. Nordic Journey Volume XIX, a single-disc endeavor to be recorded in June will highlight the historic Åkerman organ at Uppsala Cathedral in Sweden.
In addition to his endeavors concerning the organ and its literature, James is an enthusiastic exponent of traditional music from the British Isles, performing on a number of instruments associated with these traditions. James is an avid hiker and has walked the historic Hadrian’s Wall trail in Northern England as well as traversing numerous sections of the Appalachian Trail in the USA.
Nordic Journey. Toccata ich Fuga C-moll. James D. Hicks (organ), fragment, 51 sec, mp3, 128 Kbps
Organizers:
Peeter Vähi – artistic director
Tiina Jokinen – executive director
Kadri Kiis – producer, accountant
Meeta Vardja – musicologist, editor of festival booklet
Mart Kivisild – design
Olavi Sööt – co-producer, logistics
Reno Hekkonens – marketing director, PR
Johannes Vähi – co-producer, webmaster, AI prompting, sound engineering, logistics
Rebeca Birk – social media
Special thanks: Tartu City Government, Urmas Klaas, Triin Käpp, Jana Raud, Ministry of Culture of Estonia, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Canon and Overall, St. John’s church, Kaupo Kiis, Kristel Leppik, volunteers
Previous festivals: 2024; 2023; 2022; 2021; 2020; 2019; 2018; 2017; 2016; 2015; 2014; 2013; 2012; 2011; 2010; 2009; 2008; 2007; 2006; 2005; Archives: Glasperlenspiel 2003 and 2004