JAMES D. HICKS

is a concert organist living and working out of Califon, NJ, 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 thirty-five years and now devotes himself to concert, publishing, and recording projects. Over the past fifteen 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-five 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 Autumn 2025 release of Nordic Journey Volume XIX/Nordic Organ Book by Fredrik Sixten, the series now comprises thirty-one discs, all produced for the American label Pro Organo as well as being distributed by Naxos of America, the German firm JPC and the usual digital streaming platforms.

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 a number of previously unavailable compositions from earlier eras. The Norwegian firm Norsk Musikkforlag released the Nordic Journey Series Volumes I, II, and III from 2018–2022, and the fourth volume of the series appeared in September 2025. During the COVID-19 pandemic, James wrote the first full-length book devoted to the complete works for organ by Norwegian composer Kjell Mørk Karlsen on the occasion of the artist’s seventy-fifth birthday. 

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. 

To learn more about James D. Hicks, you are invited to visit his website at www.jamesdhicks.com.