Graeme Shields will present a program marking the 90th birthday of composer Robert Ashley, “Drones, Weights, & Ashley’s Date,” March 28, at First Congregational Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan. The program will feature Ashley’s only work for organ, The Entrance, along with music by composers with ties to Michigan and Ashley.
Born in Ann Arbor, Robert Ashley studied at the University of Michigan with Ross Lee Finney and forged a reputation built on his multi-disciplinary projects, use of electronics, and extended techniques. In the 1960s, Ashley co-founded the ONCE Festival in Ann Arbor alongside other local composers and artists, featuring new music and art. It was during this time that he wrote The Entrance.
Graeme Shields is organ scholar for Calvary Episcopal Church, Cincinnati, Ohio. He has performed contemporary organ concerts across the American Midwest and is a founding member of Vital Organ Project (VOP), a composer-organist duo that facilitates the creation and performance of new music featuring the pipe organ. VOP has been the catalyst for more than 15 world premieres and over 20 concert events since its inception in 2017, including an 8-hour performance of John Cage’s Organ2/ASLSP.
For information: www.vitalorganproject.com.
