Artist and theologian
Chicago, Illinois

Julian Davis Reid 19T is an artist and theologian who uses words and music to inspire collective transformation. At Candler School of Theology, he blended his passion for music with a love of ministry and academic theology. 

A musician, writer, and speaker, Reid used his time at Emory to launch his career as a recording and touring jazz and gospel pianist with his group, The JuJu Exchange, and as a solo artist. His music has been covered in The New York Times, Downbeat, and Forbes. He recently released his first full-length solo album, Vocation.

Reid founded the ministry Notes of Rest that weaves together spiritual practices found in the Bible and in Black music. He has shared this project with seminaries and churches across North America. As a writer, he won the competitive Associated Church Press award for his piece “All is Calm” in Sojourners, and he has published several essays on theology and music, including in Naming the Spirit: Pneumatology through the Arts and At This Time: Dialogues in Theological Education.

Emory was a launchpad for Reidd’s integration of contemplative spirituality and artistic performance. He created music in seminary as part of formal assignments, which expanded his thinking about the purposes and possibilities of theological education and what the life of an artist could hold.