North Shore Chapter AGO 2025 Election
Board Member Candidate – James Russell Brown
James Russell Brown is Director of Music and Organist for St. Giles Episcopal Church, Northbrook, home of Hellmuth Wolff et Associés Op. 37 (1993). He recently retired from Northern Illinois University where he taught organ and harpsichord and served as Coordinator of Graduate Studies and Undergraduate Advising for the School of Music. He has also retired from the Music Institute of Chicago, one of the largest community schools in the country, where he had served as Vice President and also taught organ and harpsichord. Under his leadership, the 1914 E.M. Skinner organ received a complete historic restoration under the auspices of Jeff Weiler. A graduate of Oberlin and New England Conservatory, his principal teachers were David Boe and Yuko Hayashi (organ), and William Porter and Lenora McCroskey (harpsichord). He has performed at National Cathedral, Harvard University, Methuen, The University of Connecticut, The University of Vermont, Stetson University, Loyola University and Holy Name Cathedral (Chicago), and Canterbury Cathedral.
Board Member Candidate – Eun Joo Ju
Eun Joo Ju is an organist who holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied with Dr. Dana Robinson. She also earned a Master of Music and a Professional Studies Diploma from the Manhattan School of Music, and both a Bachelor and Master of Music in Organ Performance from Hansei University in South Korea. She has served as an organist and choir director at numerous churches. Currently, she is the organist at Kenilworth Union Church and the organist and choir director at Presbyterian Homes in Evanston, IL. Her performance experience includes solo organ recitals throughout the United States and South Korea. Eun Joo lives in Buffalo Grove with her husband, a pastor at Peacemakers Korean Covenant Church, and two daughters.