Biography
Rian Thomas Grimmer is an emerging liturgical impresario - a composer, performing artist, producer, educator and online content creator whose work prominently features the pipe organ.
His artistic objectives include revealing the pipe organ as a musical chameleon, freeing the organ from the confines of the choir loft and bringing its diverse sounds to the people, and raising awareness of the possibilities for the instrument
in contemporary music. He endeavors to illuminate the kaleidoscopic flexibility that the
organ can bring to a developing 21st century musical culture. Through producing educational content for his YouTube channel The Grimm Composer, he encourages audiences to connect with the tonal and technological brilliance of the powerful and ancient King of Instruments, and to mark its eminence in the canon of Western music.
When asked to describe himself, Rian sardonically characterizes himself as being a “rock-n-roll bad-boy in a clergyman’s cassock.” The influences on his music are as wide-ranging and contradictory as this metaphor implies. The eclectic character of his artistry is evident in the abundance of influences on his work, chiefly among them: mythology, mysticism, ritual, minimalism, expressionism, impressionism, and romanticism, not to mention the influences of a vast array of popular contemporary styles and creators. He believes that music is inherently tonal by the nature of its source: the acoustic principles of the harmonic series as dictated by the laws of physics.
Regarding his sonic vocabulary, while techniques like plainchant and dodecaphony may seem to inhabit disparate worlds, in Rian’s music they occupy equal pride of place. His artistic processes emerge from the traditions of musique concrète, sacred minimalism, serialism, and additive synthesis. He views music as a vehicle to explore narratives and archetypes, and drive social & political commentary. He believes the innate power of music instinctively compels the human heart by via acoustic metaphor. In this way, music can communicate directly with the psyche. Sound can instantly stimulates the mind and senses, making it the most potent tool available for empowerment, healing, and liberation of not just what is personal, but communal. Rian is a proponent for improvisation in performance as a means to open a dialogue with listeners and to cultivate their appreciation for spontaneous creativity.
[Right, above: Rian leading “Cupheag Madrigal Singers” on Shakespeare Day at Christ Episcopal, Stratford, CT.
Photo credit: Ellis Light, Apr. 2016.]
[Right, below: Rian re-enacting as Asa Seymour Curtis, organist and abolitionist, for Historic Graveyard Tours.
Christ Episcopal Old Burying-Ground, Stratford, CT. June 2021.]
Amidst composing, playing the organ, and directing the church choir, Rian creates online content through his YouTube channel The Grimm Composer, and enjoys singing as a professional tenor in the Boston-based choirs, Carduus and Vox Lucens. He loves collaborating with ensembles of mixed styles in live and studio settings, providing various keyboard and vocal accompaniment.
Fostering the creative abilities of others via private coaching and courses is another way he loves to make art.
His hobbies & interests apart from music include: archaeology, architecture, art history, astrophysics, environmental science, genomics, history-bounding, historical reenactment, ornithology, poetry, research, and sewing. In regard to film, television, and literature, he particularly enjoys UK comedy panel shows, and prefers the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Online gaming with friends from across the world provides a beloved diversion from hard work. He resides in West Hartford alongside his two cats, Gigi and Willie.
Rian was born in New Haven in August 1991. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2015, receiving a B.Mus. (Cum Laude) in Composition, with focused studies in Conducting as well as Music Production & Engineering. He studied Biotechnology & Environmental Science at the Vocational Agriscience & Biotechnology Center in Trumbull, earning his diploma in 2009. After traveling throughout the New England area and working for diverse parishes, he currently serves Sacred Heart Church of Bloomfield, CT as Director of Music & Organist.
[Left: Conducting the Festival Choir in “Lessons & Carols” at Sacred Heart Church, Bloomfield, CT.
Photo credit: David Royce, Dec. 2019.]