The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts announced Dr. Jan Kraybill, in advance of its 2012-2013 season, as the organ conservator for the Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ.
The Julia Irene Kauffman Organ, the dramatic 102-rank instrument built by Casavant Frères and completed in early 2012, is the centerpiece of the visually and acoustically spectacular Helzberg Hall in the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
In selecting Kraybill, the Kauffman Center staff pointed to her deep roots in the Kansas City community and her national reputation.
“We are thrilled that someone with Dr. Kraybill’s talent and commitment to the organ community lives right here in our city,” said Jane Chu, “and we are honored that she accepted the position of conservator for the Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ.”
Kraybill performs as both a pianist and organist throughout the United States and abroad. At home, she performs as harpsichordist and organist with many ensembles, including the Kansas City Symphony and Chorus, the Kansas City Chorale, The Spire Chamber Ensemble, and the Independence Messiah Choir. Her talents took her abroad early, when as a junior in high school in Colby, Kansas, she presented her first European piano recital in Andover, England. Since then she has performed in many venues in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Poland, Russia, South Korea and Tahiti, and has undertaken multiple tours of the United Kingdom, including performances at the grand cathedrals of Chester, Exeter, and St. Paul’s in London. She has appeared on regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) and other musicians’ organizations, and has been featured on Kansas Public Radio and American Public Media’s nationally broadcast program Pipedreams.
The conservator is the lead caretaker of the Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ. In this role, 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. She will coordinate with artists and production personnel to ensure outstanding performances consistent with the quality of the instrument and the superior acoustics of Helzberg Hall.
“I am honored and humbled to have been selected for this opportunity,” Kraybill says. “The Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant Organ is an outstanding addition to our local, national and international organ family. I look forward to working with diverse artists and performances to demonstrate the full capacity of this instrument, bring new audiences into the Kauffman Center and build support for organ music.”
