Jan Kraybill, principal organist and director of music for Community of Christ.

Kraybill Performs at Minneapolis Convention

Jan Kraybill, as principal organist and director of music for Community of Christ, performed at the American Guild of Organists National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in June. This biennial convention features the world’s finest organists in recitals. John Obetz, organist emeritus for Community of Christ, was in attendance. “Without a doubt the performance was magical,” Obetz said. “It [playing in a national convention recital] is a pinnacle moment for any organist.”

The AGO holds regional and national conventions on rotating years (regional on odd and national on even). These conventions consist of recitals, concerts, workshops, and exhibitions. Organists, church musicians, and music enthusiasts were in attendance at the 2008 national convention. For Kraybill this convention was exceptionally different from the other AGO national conventions she had attended. When asked to describe her experience in Minneapolis, Kraybill’s response was, “It was indescribable. It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity. This one tops them all,” she said. At other conventions she was just another person in the audience, but this time she was on the hot seat.

Kraybill is not a newcomer to pressure-filled concerts. She regularly plays recitals on the world-renowned pipe organs at Community of Christ International Headquarters. She has also been the featured performer at some of the most prestigious organ performance venues around the world, such as St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, England, and the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When asked what would be next for her, she replied, “To make every one [performance] better than the last one, no matter where, no matter when.” This will be no easy bill to fill. Over the next fifteen months she will play her 10th annual Super Bowl Sunday recital at Community of Christ Temple (February 1, 2009) and perform at a regional AGO convention in Wichita, Kansas, in June 2009.

Another performance will take place on November 6, 2009, fifty years to the day since virtuosic organist Catherine Crozier played the dedication recital on the newly installed Auditorium organ to an over-capacity crowd of 7,000. Kraybill will play the same music that was featured at the dedication recital, at the same time on the same day as the original performance. This will signal the half-century mark, celebrating the installation of this majestic instrument and Community of Christ’s dedication to an unforgettable musical experience.

For further information about Jan Kraybill’s upcoming events at Community of Christ, visit www.CofChrist.org/dome_default.asp.

—Jeff Benson reporting