1/30/2022

Organist announces theme of 23rd annual concert at Community of Christ headquarters

By Melody Cook

Grammy-nominated organist, Jan Kraybill, is putting a timely spin on her annual Super Bowl Sunday concert, which will be released as a recording online Feb. 13 at 2:00 p.m. CST. For the 23rd year running, the one-woman performance will feature organs from Community of Christ’s temple and auditorium. Kraybill has entitled this year’s theme, “Memories and Mutations,” and said she hopes it will be inspirational to listeners amid the pandemic.

“It is talking about how it’s essential that we continue to create memories and that we remember the people that are no longer with us,” Kraybill said. “And the mutations part of it is — yes, the virus mutates, but we can mutate our behaviors, too.”

Despite the challenges of COVID-19, she said, artists are finding ways to continue their passions. To reflect that, her performance lineup features composers who challenged standard musical formats, Kraybill said.

One of the pieces, “Cat Duet Suite,” honors the pets that provide companionship during the pandemic, she said. The number is written to be played on the pedals by four feet —all of which will be Kraybill’s. The seasoned organist said she achieved the duet by stitching together recordings of her playing each part.

Katherine Pollock, a resident of Springfield, Missouri, and member of Community of Christ, said she is excited about being able to watch the concert online, as she has never had the chance to hear Kraybill’s music live.

“She has quite the reputation around the church for her music,” Pollock said. She is particularly interested in Kraybill’s theme and said she expects to feel hope from the performance.

“I assume there’s some calm through this storm,” she said.

The set list, Kraybill said, will have “something for everyone.”

“There are meditative pieces, yes, but a lot of people think that’s all the organ is,” she said.

Kraybill said her favorite part of playing the organ is feeling its power. CoC’s two organs total more than 12,000 pipes, creating the “soul-stirring” power she likened to the rumbling motor of her other passion — a Harley-Davidson. When the performer isn’t behind an organ, she enjoys motorcycling with her husband, she said.

The concert’s scheduling began as an oversight but turned into a tradition, Kraybill said. While planning her first concert more than two decades ago, Kraybill said she chose a date with no competing artistic performances. She said it wasn’t until her brother-in-law called that she learned the date she had chosen was Super Bowl Sunday. Though her family feared she wouldn’t have an audience, more than 350 people attended the concert, she said. Every year until the pandemic started, Kraybill hosted a Super Bowl party following her organ recital, she said.

Kraybill said for years she had promised to play a piece honoring the Kansas City Chiefs if they made it to the Super Bowl.

“And for about 20 of those 23 years, there was no chance, you know,” she said.

But when the Chiefs went to the Super Bowl in 2020, her concert included a medley of football-themed pieces — and the team won.

Then, in 2021, the Chiefs made it to the big game again. However, this was the first year Kraybill recorded her performance, and copyright laws prevented her from playing a tribute to the Chiefs.

“And they lost,” she said. “Such responsibility. So, I chose a different theme this year.”

Though she won’t be playing a tribute to her favorite football team this year, Kraybill said she wants to inspire her listeners in the face of the pandemic, just as the Chiefs inspire their fans.

“It’s a game, yeah, but it also teaches lessons like — don’t give up, work together, be optimistic, treasure the teammates you have around you,” she said. "Especially now, I think it’s really, really important that we share whatever our passions or talents are — that we share in a spirit of shared hope and shared inspiration.”