Colby Eagles Alumni Association
Janet Anschutz Kraybill
Copyright Colby Eagles Alumni Association @ 2014
Nominated 3 Times by Sheree Smith Stoppel, Laura Watters Barnett, & Jo Steele Kraus
I would like to nominate Jan Anschutz Kraybill for the CHS Hall of Fame. Jan has been an outstanding musician during her high school, collegiate, and professional years of traveling the world & performing. She is an exemplary & humble representative of the CHS music department! (And she ALWAYS mentions that her roots are from Colby, Kansas!) This is her bio: Jan Kraybill is a musical leader and dynamic speaker; a concert organist, pianist, and harpsichordist; an educator, church musician, & consultant; & and enthusiastic cheerleader for the power of music to change lives for the better. In addition to maintaining a very active concert schedule, Dr. Kraybill is Organ Conservator at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, Organist-in-Residence at the International headquarters of Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri, & Organist at Village on Antioch Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Overland Park, Kansas. She plays & oversees the care of the Kansas City metro area's three largest pipe organs: at Community of Christ, the Auditorium's 113-rank Aeolian-Skinner (installed in 1959) & the Temple's 102-rank Casavant (1993), & at the Kauffman Center's Helzberg Hall, the 102-rank Julia Irene Kauffman Casavant (2012). Throughout her career, Jan has performed as both a solo & collaborative musician, has designed & led international hymn festivals, has taught workshops on a variety of topics, has inspired audiences & congregations, & has been a resource for those seeking to nurture their own creativity. While in high school in Colby, Kansas, she was invited to play her first European piano recital in Andover, England. Since then, she has performed in many venues in North America, & in Australia, Europe, Russia, South Korea, & Tahiti. She has undertaken multiple tours of the United Kingdom, including organ concerts at the grand cathedrals of Chester, Exeter, & St. Paul's in London. In 2015, she designed & led a hymn festival at the International Gathering of Hymn Societies at Cambridge University. Jan has been featured at regional & national conventions of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), the American Choral Directors Association, the Hymn Society in the United States & Canada, & other musicians' organizations, & appeared multiple times on American Public Media's nationally broadcast program, Pipedreams. She has collaborated with many ensembles, including the Bach Aria Soloists, the Phoenix Chorale, Kantorei Denver, the Kansas City Chorale, the Kansas City Symphony & Symphony Chorus, & others. Several solo CDs & collaborative recordings are available. Jan's first solo CD, Two by 2: Two Organ Symphonies on Two Magnificent Organs, features both of Community of Christ's Pipe organs. Rejoice & Remember contains hymn arrangements for piano. The Auditorium Organ: Fifty Years of Excellence celebrated that organ's 50th anniversary in 2009. Solo CDs of the Julie Irene Kauffman Casavant were released by Reference Recordings in 2014 & 2019: Organ Polychrome features music by French composers, & The Orchestral Organ is a disc of transcriptions. Jan has also recorded for Reference with the Kansas City Symphony on several occasions; their disc containing Saint-Sans' Organ Symphony was nominated for a Grammy in 2015. Dr. Kraybill's degrees are in music education and piano & organ performance, from Kansas State University & the Conservatory of Music & Dance at the University fo Missouri-Kansas City. In 2010, she achieved the distinction of Fellow of the AGO, organists' highest certification level. She has served in many local, regional, & national roles in the AGO, The Hymn Society, & the Master Teacher Institute, most recently as Executive Director of the Hymn Society in the U.S. & Canada. She is a member of Mensa. Her extra-musical interests include antiquing, lace making, & riding her Harley-Davidson with her husband, Allan.
Sheree Smith Stoppel, Class of 1976
Janet continues to amaze me. She currently plays with the Kansas City Symphony & is featured on Classical KC radio as a soloist organ player. Even through COVID, Janet remained positive - playing the organ online & through zoom. She has adapted & found new ways to reach people who really needed something to lift them up. Janet has played the organ around the world in churches, concert halls, & she has even performed Super Bowl Organ concerts for her beloved Kansas City Chiefs fans. This is something she wrote on Facebook after her first concert, Super Bowl Concert - when they won the Bowl - "Thanks to the nearly 700 people who came to my 21st annual Super Bowl Sunday performance, in which I finally got to fulfill my promise to play something in honor of the Kansas City Chiefs for making it to the Super Bowl. Together we showed that is doesn't have to be an either/or choice between music or sports. It can be both!" Janet was a nominee during the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in 2020. She was nominated in the category of Classical Instrumental Solo. Janet teaches organ workshops, is a dynamic speaker, a pianist, & plays the organ. She is a positive influence & loved not only throughout the local Kansas City art scene, but throughout the world. She exudes positivity. I am always proud to say she is from Colby, Kansas - MY HOME TOWN as is she! https://jankraybill.com//bio
Laura Watters Barnett, Class of 1979
Throughout her career in music, Jan has maintained a positive attitude & been an enthusiastic spokesperson for the arts. I have had the opportunity to attend professional conferences where Jan has presented workshops & worship services. She tells people how important community support is for the arts, & that she appreciates coming from Colby where that support is strong. Jan was recently nominated for a Grammy award for her CD, "The Orchestral Organ". This past year, several articles in Kansas City periodicals have focused on her achievements. I know others who are better informed of her specific accomplishments are also nominating her for the "High Flying Eagle" award, which shows her broad support from the Colby community.
Jo Steele Kraus, Class of 1978
