Vital Organ Project

modern music for the modern organ

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Organ and Guitar

  • Redeemer Lutheran Church 139 E 1st St Hinsdale, IL 60521 United States (map)

Join brothers Graeme Shields and Jonathon Shields as they tackle repertoire for organ and guitar. Music by Daniel Pinkham, Chris DeBlasio, Antonio Vivaldi, and more!

 

Graeme Shields is the Director of Worship and Music at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hinsdale, IL. He is an organist and composer who has enjoyed performances of his music around the United States, Canada, Russia, Finland, and Costa Rica at events such as Florida State University’s New Music Festival and the Silver Sounds International Chamber Music Competition. His work has been recognized by the Kennedy Center’s American College Theatre Festival and the Duluth-Superior Symphony Orchestra. He has also enjoyed artist residencies at Warbler’s Roost in South River, ON and Azule in Hot Springs, NC.

As an organist, Graeme is a founding member of the non-profit Vital Organ Project (VOP). Shields has had the pleasure to work as Organ Scholar at Calvary Episcopal in Cincinnati with Howard Helvey, concertize with organist and composer Brenda Portman, accompany for the Turkish American Musical Theatre Alliance in Istanbul, and premiere new works for organ across the US and Canada under the auspices of the American Center of Church Music, a modicum of midwestern universities and American Guild of Organist chapters, and Vital Organ Project. These positions and experiences have fostered his love for collaborative work which continues to lead his coordination of recitals, concert series, competitions, and commissions of new music.

Graeme holds degrees from Western Michigan University and the University of Minnesota-Duluth. His primary teachers have included Christopher Biggs, Lisa Coons, Justin Rubin, and Karl Schrock.

 

Nashville-based musician, songwriter, and producer Jon Shields blends soulful guitar with multiple genres from R&B and country all the way to classical and jazz. Having played in bands with the likes of Mary Wilson of the Supremes and in groups opening for top country acts, Shields has built a reputable name as a guitarist, educator, and consultant.

Shields arrived in Nashville in the summer of 2019 and has been working steadily since; lending his hands to producing artist demos, working as a hired gun, helping artists develop their songs, co-writing, mixing and mastering, session work, and teaching. After a long stint in the live music realm he has created a unique recording and release schedule to release at least one song every two weeks for the whole year of 2022.

In 2014 he began his collegiate music journey at University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, excelling in music theory and guitar performance he sought to blend as much knowledge as he could into his music. Coming out of school in 2018 with two music degrees as well as a minor in recording arts, Shields quickly hit the pavement with the formation of his band “The Jon Shields Trio.” The Trio would go on to play at multiple venues across Minnesota playing everything from classic jazz standards to Stevie Wonder to pop. That same year he released “For You,” with a folk and country direction that met local acclaim.

Earlier Event: June 21
A Solstice Meditation
Later Event: March 20
Organ and Guitar

MODERN MUSIC FOR THE MODERN ORGAN