Superbowl Sunday Recital...

[KB7DQH]

http://www.examiner.net/news/x1200257956/Super-Bowl-Sunday-Recital-XIII-Organist-to-feature-Liszt-work?zc_p=0

Independence, MO —

Like a seasoned athlete, Jan Kraybill has her rituals before the big game – or, in this case, the big recital.

Kraybill, the principal organist for Community of Christ, will sit at the instrument for up to six hours a day leading up to her Super Bowl Sunday Recital, now in its 13th year.

Though she's performed across the country and around the world for years, a healthy amount of pre-performance jitters and nerves still exist, Kraybill says.

She wears special shoes, like an athlete, for playing the organ. Just as a field needs proper care before the kickoff, the Community of Christ Temple organ received its twice-a-year tune-up Thursday and Friday in preparation for Kraybill's game-before-the-big-game.

Kraybill's source of inspiration for this year's recital, "Second Acts," came from two sources: a brand-new, 5,548-pipe organ and the 19th century Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, "a rock star of his time," Kraybill says.

In his younger years, Liszt was a famous pianist and organist who is credited with inventing the concept of a modern public recital featuring solo artists, Kraybill says. By the mid-1800s, a phenomenon known as "Lisztomania" had taken over Europe. Hysteric fans fought over Liszt's handkerchiefs and gloves, which he was notorious for pulling off, one finger at a time, before throwing into an audience of admiring fans.

"He was like The Beatles," Kraybill says, laughing. "People would show up, crowd the concert hall and would be screaming and swooning. He really was like Elvis or The Beatles or something. He was that kind of a performer."

Later in life, personal loss, including a failed engagement and the death of two children, led Liszt to seek solitude and a private life inside a monastery.

And so, appropriately, Kraybill's recital will feature both acts of the "flamboyant performer" and the "monastery resident" with the two pieces "Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H" and "Kirchen-Hymne: Salve Regina."

Building upon the "second act" inspiration of Liszt, Kraybill found that other composers, such as Jehan Alain, Olivier Messiaen and Joseph Bonnet, had undergone transformations of their own. Their works, and those of several others, will comprise Super Bowl Sunday Recital XIII.

Like her recital in 2010, a mystery guest – a volunteer audience member – will take to the organ Sunday afternoon as Kraybill performs William Albright's "Sweet Sixteenths: A Concert Rag for Organ."

Two years ago, Kraybill's guest volunteer was a young boy no older than age 10.

"This year, I'm going to go for someone who is older and is willing to start his personal transformation right there in front of everybody," Kraybill says, laughing. "This is going to be a second-act person, right, so I'm hoping that an older person – older than me – decides to try coming up and playing the organ."

Kraybill herself is somewhat of a Renaissance woman, a person who finds balance in her second act. A member of Mensa International, Kraybill's non-musical interests include antiques, lace making and riding her Harley-Davidson with her husband.

But still, she remains dedicated to music, especially the organ. Two years ago, she earned the American Guild of Organists' fellow certification, almost a second doctorate for Kraybill in music performance since it's the highest certification available for organists.

"Never, ever, ever," Kraybill says, laughing, of whether she grows tired of the organ. Sometimes, she'll call her husband, Allan, to notify him that she'll be rehearsing her beloved instrument for one more hour.

And then, three hours later, Jan will call Allan back, apologizing for the elapsed time and not looking at the clock.

But Kraybill keeps her eye on the clock on Super Bowl Sunday. As always, she says, the 3 p.m. recital start time will allow plenty of time for football fans to make it home in time for the 5 p.m. kickoff between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots.

The instrument itself also guided Kraybill's recital theme this year. Because of downtown Kansas City's Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and its new Casavant Fréres pipe organ – nearly the same size as the Temple's 1993 organ – the Temple organ enters its "second act as the older sister of the newborn," Kraybill says.

Internationally acclaimed organist James David Christie will inaugurate the custom-designed new Casavant in two sold-out performances on March 10 and 11 at the Kauffman Center. Jane Chu, the Kauffman Center's CEO, will speak at Kraybill's recital on the new organ housed inside the performance center's Helzberg Hall.

"What is happening now – which I think is really cool – is that the Kauffman Center is selling out their hall, which I think will help organists all over our city, to help the public to realize the organ is a fascinating instrument," Kraybill says. "Organists have always known that, but I think the public hasn't."

As soon as one Super Bowl Sunday Recital ends, Kraybill is on to planning the next year's bill. Audience members, year after year, share their thoughts with Kraybill on what they enjoyed in her recital and what didn't necessarily work as well.

She tries to balance each program with safer pieces she knows the audience (typically between 500 and 600 people) will love, as well as choosing songs that stretch both the imagination of the listeners and Kraybill as a performer.

Kraybill counts the Super Bowl Sunday Recital among her favorite performances throughout the year because the audience members aren't just organ enthusiasts. Like attending the symphony, a stereotype still exists that the organ is reserved only for the elite and the musically educated, Kraybill says.

"I try to make this very approachable," she says of her free recital where casual attire is acceptable and that features her commentary between songs.

In fact, Kraybill herself may one day abandon her typical recital outfit for something more sporty. It would certainly make for an interesting change up for a recital that began more than a decade ago when Kraybill accidentally chose the Sunday of football's biggest game for her annual showcase.

"I always say, if the (Kansas City) Chiefs make the Super Bowl, I'll play it in a Chiefs jersey," she says, laughing, "but, they haven't. Maybe in my lifetime here."

Eric
KB7DQH