Singing Poetry -- The Essence of Hymnody
1st Congregational Church Wauwatosa
Presenter: Dr. Jan Kraybill, DMA, FAGO
Authors and composers of congregational music have given us many rich expressions which shape and renew our faith and help us form connections with God and with each other.  In this workshop we’ll review and sing hymn and song texts from a variety of generations and cultures, and we'll discuss how best to help our worshiping communities sing this poetry with appreciation, artistry, and enthusiasm.

Authors and composers of congregational music have given us many rich expressions which shape and renew our faith and help us form connections with God and with each other.  In this workshop we’ll review and sing hymn and song texts from a variety of generations and cultures, and we'll discuss how best to help our worshiping communities sing this poetry with appreciation, artistry, and enthusiasm.

Jan Kraybill is a musical leader and dynamic speaker; a concert organist, pianist, and harpsichordist; an educator, church musician, and consultant; and an enthusiastic cheerleader for the power of music to change lives for the better. In addition to maintaining a very active concert schedule, Dr. Kraybill is Organ Conservator at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, Organist-in-Residence at the international headquarters of Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri; and Organist at Village on Antioch Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Overland Park, Kansas. She plays and oversees the care of the Kansas City metro area's three largest pipe organs: at Community of Christ, the Auditorium’s 113-rank Aeolian-Skinner (installed in 1959) and the Temple’s 102-rank Casavant (1993), and at the Kauffman Center's Helzberg Hall, the 102-rank Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant (2012).
Throughout her career Jan has performed as both a solo and collaborative musician, has designed and led international hymn festivals, has taught workshops on a variety of topics, has inspired audiences and congregations, and has been a resource for those seeking to nurture their own creativity. While in high school in Colby, Kansas, she was invited to play her first European piano recital in Andover, England. Since then she has performed in many venues in North America, and in Australia, Europe, Russia, South Korea, and Tahiti. She has undertaken multiple tours of the United Kingdom, including organ concerts at the grand cathedrals of Chester, Exeter, and St. Paul’s in London. In 2015, she designed and led a hymn festival at the International Gathering of Hymn Societies at Cambridge University.

Jan has been featured at regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), the American Choral Directors Association, the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, and other musicians’ organizations, and appeared multiple times on American Public Media’s nationally broadcast program Pipedreams. She has collaborated with many ensembles, including the Bach AriaSoloists, the Phoenix Chorale, Kantorei Denver, the Kansas City Chorale, the Kansas City Symphony and Symphony Chorus, and others.

Dr. Kraybill's degrees are in music education and piano and organ performance, from Kansas State University and the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In 2010 she achieved the distinction of Fellow of the AGO, organists' highest certification level. She has served in many local, regional, and national roles in the AGO, The Hymn Society, and the Master Teacher Institute, most recently as Executive Director of The Hymn Society in the U.S. and Canada. She is a member of Mensa. Her extra-musical interests include antiquing, lace making, and riding her Harley-Davidson with her husband, Allan.