Jackson Borges is Organist & Minister of Music for Statesboro First United Methodist Church and adjunct professor of music at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia. Prior to his appointment, Jackson held positions with the Episcopal Parish of All Saints’ Church & St. George’s Chapel in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, as well as The Princeton Girl Choir, The American Boychoir, and Morristown United Methodist Church in New Jersey.
In addition to his church music ministry, Jackson is a frequent recitalist and silent movie accompanist, both at home and abroad. He has been heard in important venues such as Grace and St. Mary’s Cathedrals (San Francisco), the Spreckels Organ Pavilion (San Diego), Fourth Presbyterian Church (Chicago), Grace Church (Episcopal) and Central Synagogue (New York City), the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart and Princeton University (New Jersey), Trinity Church (Boston), Longwood Gardens and the Kimmel Center (Pennsylvania), and Khandallah Presbyterian Church (Wellington, New Zealand). Jackson’s orchestral debut was made in 2005 as organ soloist for Joseph Jongen’s monumental Symphonie Concertante with the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony. He has also appeared in Europe as duet partner and vocalist with American concert organist Stephen Tharp and has premiered new organ works and transcriptions by American composers Stephen Tharp, Daniel E. Gawthrop, Carolyn Hamlin, and Jason Klein-Mendoza.
Jackson is an accomplished chamber musician, continuo player, and accompanist, and has been heard in concert with members of the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Opera Chorus, Center City Chorale of Wilmington, Delaware, Delaware Symphony, Princeton Pro Musica, as well as numerous other professional organizations across the country.
As a composer, Jackson has written works which range from those for solo organ, voice, and choir, as well as arrangements for choir, congregation, and instrumental ensembles. His work “The St. George Responses” was given its first performance at St. George’s Chapel in Harbeson, Delaware on the Feast of the Epiphany, 2016.
Jackson Borges is an active member of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) and has served on the executive boards of the Palomar and San Diego (CA) chapters, the Delaware chapter, and the Southern Delaware chapter. He has taught at Pipe Organ Encounters (POE) and given workshops for the AGO on both coasts and has performed at regional and national conventions of both the AGO and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
As a vocalist, Jackson has performed in many important venues, such as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, under conductors Pierre Boulez, Mariss Janssons, Ton Koopman, and Kurt Mazur. In the realm of musical and dramatic theatre, Jackson has appeared as pianist, music director, performer, and educator, both in academic and community settings.
Jackson Borges holds degrees in organ performance from San Diego State University, Westminster Choir College, and The University of Alabama. He has won top scholarship and competition awards from the American Guild of Organists, the Spreckels Organ Society, and the Pacific Council of Organ Clubs. Jackson’s major teachers have included Robert Plimpton, Alan Morrison, Faythe Freese and the late Tom Hazleton, with additional instruction in improvisation from Bruce Neswick and Stephen Tharp. He has participated in masterclasses and individual coaching sessions with Todd Wilson (Cleveland Institute of Music), Weston Noble (Luther College, Iowa), Vance George (San Francisco Symphony Chorus), John Ferguson (St. Olaf College), Pierre Pincemaille (Basilique St-Denis, Paris, France).
He is exclusively represented by Concert Artist Cooperative, and more information may be found at his website, www.jacksonborges.com, and at www.concertartistcooperative.com.
