Jan Kraybill has been selected as organ conservator for the Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ in Kansas City. The 102-rank instrument, built by Casavant Frères and completed in early 2012, is the centerpiece of Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
The conservator is the lead caretaker of the organ. In this role Dr. Kraybill will work closely with Kauffman Center staff and Casavant to facilitate the use of the instrument in performances, and ensure proper preservation and maintenance of the organ, and coordinate with artists and production personnel.
Since 1998, Kraybill has served as Principal Organist at the international headquarters of the Community of Christ (formerly RLDS) denomination in Independence, Missouri, home to the 113-rank Aeolian-Skinner Auditorium Organ (1959) and the Temple’s 102-rank Casavant organ (1993). She will continue in those duties. Kraybill has performed in many venues in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Poland, Russia, South Korea, and Tahiti, has appeared at regional and national conventions of the AGO, and has been featured on Kansas Public Radio and on American Public Media’s nationally broadcast program Pipedreams.
In 2010, Kraybill earned the certification of Fellow of the American Guild of Organists (FAGO). She has served in many elected offices in the AGO, most recently as Councillor for Region VI, and is the executive assistant for the guild’s 2018 national convention to be held in Kansas City. Kraybill is also on the executive committee of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, and serves on the board of directors of the Master Teacher Institute for the Arts. For information: www.jankraybill.com.
Performances involving the Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant are being planned for the 2012-13 season. Solo artists include Richard Elliott, October 24; Cameron Carpenter, November 4; Jan Kraybill, January 16; Caroline Robinson, April 10; Tom Trenney, May 8; and Chelsea Chen, May 20.
For information: www.kauffmancenter.org.
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