Senior Warden’s report: Welcoming our new organist/choirmaster
Ed Grimes will be joining St. Paul’s this fall as our new organist/choirmaster.
He comes to us from Christ Church in Kent, where he’s director of music and has served for nearly three decades. Ed’s been playing the organ since he was 14 and music is a key part of another aspect of his life, teaching music at the Spring Garden Waldorf School in Copley/Fairlawn. He's also the school's gardening coordinator.
He holds a master’s in conducting from Kent State University and has worked with Opera Cleveland, Kent Classic Arts, and many other musical and educational organizations.
“He obviously is a very spiritual gentleman and considers the music to be a very important part of a church service,” said Stephen Johnson, a member of the Organist Search Committee. “He seems a very good fit as far as his approach to the music and his ability.”
A key part of Ed’s job at St. Paul’s will be rebuilding our choir, and he interviewed with several members of our choir as well.
It was a couple months before the pandemic hit that we lost our organist, Mark Peterson, to an unfortunate medical condition that forced him to retire. Since then, we have been ably served by several organists who kept the music playing at St. Paul’s.
Thanks to the Search Committee: Steve Johnson, Tom Lilly, Douglas Colmery, Elizabeth Mapp and Brenda Denning for joining me in the search. And welcome, Ed!
David Lewis
Ed Grimes will be joining St. Paul’s this fall as our new organist/choirmaster.
He comes to us from Christ Church in Kent, where he’s director of music and has served for nearly three decades. Ed’s been playing the organ since he was 14 and music is a key part of another aspect of his life, teaching music at the Spring Garden Waldorf School in Copley/Fairlawn. He's also the school's gardening coordinator.
He holds a master’s in conducting from Kent State University and has worked with Opera Cleveland, Kent Classic Arts, and many other musical and educational organizations.
“He obviously is a very spiritual gentleman and considers the music to be a very important part of a church service,” said Stephen Johnson, a member of the Organist Search Committee. “He seems a very good fit as far as his approach to the music and his ability.”
A key part of Ed’s job at St. Paul’s will be rebuilding our choir, and he interviewed with several members of our choir as well.
It was a couple months before the pandemic hit that we lost our organist, Mark Peterson, to an unfortunate medical condition that forced him to retire. Since then, we have been ably served by several organists who kept the music playing at St. Paul’s.
Thanks to the Search Committee: Steve Johnson, Tom Lilly, Douglas Colmery, Elizabeth Mapp and Brenda Denning for joining me in the search. And welcome, Ed!
David Lewis