Kurt Kaiser
Encyclopedia
Kurt Kaiser, is an award winning songwriter
of Contemporary Christian music and member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame
. He has produced and arranged albums for the likes of: Kathleen Battle
, Ernie Ford
, Larnelle Harris
, Burl Ives
, Ken Medema
, Christopher Parkening
, George Beverly Shea
, Joni Eareckson Tada
, Ethel Waters
, and Anne Martindale Wiliams. He has recorded sixteen piano solo
albums of his own. He won a Dove Award
at the 24th GMA Dove Awards
in 1993 for his album titled Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. In 1992 he was the recipient of a Lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
, he attended The American Conservatory of Music
. From there, he attended Northwestern University School of Music
, where he earned both a Bachelor's and Master's degree
in music
. In 1959, he joined Word Records
as Director of Artists and Repertoire (A&R). He would later move up to be Vice-president and Director of Music there.
From 1965 through 1970, Kaiser served as director of the Baylor Religious Hour Choir, whose current members include Richard Ashley. At the same time, Kurt Kaiser and his friend Ralph Carmichael
began writing Christian rock
musicals
geared to reach out to the youth of the time. Their first musical, Tell it Like it is, which included the song "Pass it on", sold 2,500 copies, completely selling out the first run, it then completely sold out its second run of 100,000 copies as well.
"It was the beginning of youth finding a place in church again", said Carmichael. The two continued on to write two more musicals, Natural High and I'm Here, God's Here, Now We Can Start. He became a regular at Youth for Christ
rallies. Kurt Kaiser would, in time, leave Word and start his own label which he still runs to this day, from his home in Texas
.
In 1999 Kaiser was invited to Sweden
to perform for a gathering of dignitaries and guests at the prestigious Museum of History at Stockholm
, at the request of the Ambassador of the United States. He also found time to record with Bill Pearce
("Nightsounds") on the CD A Touch of Gold. Bill Pearce
said: "Kurt Kaiser came playing piano through Chicago... he and I hooked up with my trombone and before I knew it we were recording "head arrangements" for Word. Then things at Word really started shaking and Paul Mickelson and Ralph Carmichael were raising the level, using professional sidemen and before we knew it Word records was paying our production fees. We were playing with name people, including members of the Chicago Symphony string section, lead trumpet Bobbie Lewis, Mark McDunn and studio players; John Haynor was playing bass trombone with us. Guys like this were playing backgrounds. We were just at the right place at the right time. I was working hard and new young arrangers came through with good ideas and we were doing albums with top musicians. It was just a gift of God with timing that put me in the middle of all this. I was the only one doing anything at Word in brass work at all apart from a guy in Detroit named Chuck Ohman who was a fine trumpeter whom I had worked with in Percy Crawford
's days. I was just blowing bubbles, making 30 or 40 albums over the years - there were so many I lost count. Incredible!"
In 2001 he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
He helped to found the Day Spring Baptist Church in Waco
, Texas
and is their choir director.
He received the "Faithfulness in Service " award in 2003.
Kaiser conducts choral workshops and performs solo as well. He's described by friends as someone who will constantly try to help and teach anyone he meets. Ken Barker, senior editorial director at Word, recalled one time when he was eating with Kaiser at a restaurant where a young woman was struggling to play the piano to entertain the customers. Kaiser gave the woman a quick clinic on how she could improve her playing.
He continues to be active as a producer as well.
"Three years ago, while sharing tea with my dear friend Katy Stokes," recalls artist Carianne, "I bashfully presented this sketchy idea of a lullaby CD. Katy's eyes brightened as she said, 'Go talk to Kurt!' It took a little prodding, but I finally went to Kurt Kaiser and performed a few of my original lullabies. He immediately started bouncing ideas around and before I knew it, we were off and running…well, that is until everything was put on hold when I found out I was pregnant! The beautiful result is the sweet face you see on the cover of the CD."
Kaiser lives in Waco with his wife. They have four children (all attended Baylor) and ten grandchildren.
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
of Contemporary Christian music and member of the Gospel Music Hall of Fame
Gospel Music Hall of Fame
The Gospel Music Hall of Fame, created in 1971 by the Gospel Music Association, is a Hall of Fame dedicated exclusively to recognizing meaningful contributions by individuals and groups in all forms of gospel music.-Inductees:...
. He has produced and arranged albums for the likes of: Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Battle
Kathleen Battle , is an African-American operatic soprano known for her agile and light voice and her silvery, pure tone. Battle initially became known for her work within the concert repertoire through performances with major orchestras during the early and mid 1970s. She made her opera debut in...
, Ernie Ford
Tennessee Ernie Ford
Ernest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
, Larnelle Harris
Larnelle Harris
Larnelle Steward Harris is a gospel singer and songwriter. During his 30-plus years of ministry, Harris has recorded 18 albums, won five Grammy Awards and 18 Dove Awards, and has had several number one songs on the inspirational music charts.-Early life:A native of Danville, Kentucky, Harris...
, Burl Ives
Burl Ives
Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American actor, writer and folk music singer. As an actor, Ives's work included comedies, dramas, and voice work in theater, television, and motion pictures. Music critic John Rockwell said, "Ives's voice .....
, Ken Medema
Ken Medema
Ken Medema is a composer–singer–songwriter who has been performing in the United States, Canada, and Europe for more than thirty years....
, Christopher Parkening
Christopher Parkening
Christopher Parkening is an American classical guitarist.Parkening was born in Los Angeles, California, and pursued music in part because of his cousin Jack Marshall, a studio musician in the 1960s. Marshall first introduced Parkening to the recordings of Andrés Segovia when he was 11, and...
, George Beverly Shea
George Beverly Shea
George Beverly "Bev" Shea is a Grammy Award-winning Canadian-born American gospel singer and hymn composer. Shea has often been described as "America's beloved Gospel singer" and is considered "the first international singing 'star' of the gospel world," as a consequence of his solos at Billy...
, Joni Eareckson Tada
Joni Eareckson Tada
Joni Eareckson Tada is an evangelical Christian author, radio host, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community." "Joni" is pronounced as if it were spelled "Johnny" as she was named after her father.-Biography:As a teenager, Joni...
, Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters
Ethel Waters was an American blues, jazz and gospel vocalist and actress. She frequently performed jazz, big band, and pop music, on the Broadway stage and in concerts, although she began her career in the 1920s singing blues.Her best-known recordings includes, "Dinah", "Birmingham Bertha",...
, and Anne Martindale Wiliams. He has recorded sixteen piano solo
Piano solo
The piano is often used to provide harmonic accompaniment to a voice or other instrument. However, solo parts for the piano are common in many musical styles...
albums of his own. He won a Dove Award
GMA Music Awards
The Gospel Music Association Dove Awards are presented annually by the Gospel Music Association for outstanding achievements in the Christian music industry. The awards are usually presented during a ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee, that features performances by a number of the industry's newest...
at the 24th GMA Dove Awards
24th GMA Dove Awards
The 24th Annual GMA Dove Awards were held on April 1, 1993 recognizing accomplishments of musicians for the year 1992. The show was held in Nashville, Tennessee, and was hosted by Barbara Mandrell.-Award recipients:*Artist of the Year**Michael English...
in 1993 for his album titled Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. In 1992 he was the recipient of a Lifetime achievement award from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).
Career
Born in Chicago, IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, he attended The American Conservatory of Music
American Conservatory of Music
The American Conservatory of Music was a major American school of music founded in 1886 by John James Hattstaedt . The conservatory was incorporated as an Illinois non-profit corporation. It was located in Chicago until 1991 when its Board of Trustees — chaired by Frederic Wilbur Hickman...
. From there, he attended Northwestern University School of Music
Northwestern University School of Music
The Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music, or Bienen School of Music, is an undergraduate and graduate institution devoted to musical performance and academics. Located on Northwestern University's campus in Evanston, Illinois, 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, the school was known as the...
, where he earned both a Bachelor's and Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. In 1959, he joined Word Records
Word Records
Word Records is a Christian record label based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a division of Word Entertainment , which, itself is co-owned by Warner Music Group and Curb Records...
as Director of Artists and Repertoire (A&R). He would later move up to be Vice-president and Director of Music there.
From 1965 through 1970, Kaiser served as director of the Baylor Religious Hour Choir, whose current members include Richard Ashley. At the same time, Kurt Kaiser and his friend Ralph Carmichael
Ralph Carmichael
Ralph Carmichael is a composer and arranger of both secular pop music and contemporary Christian music, being regarded as one of the pioneers of the latter genre...
began writing Christian rock
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
geared to reach out to the youth of the time. Their first musical, Tell it Like it is, which included the song "Pass it on", sold 2,500 copies, completely selling out the first run, it then completely sold out its second run of 100,000 copies as well.
"It was the beginning of youth finding a place in church again", said Carmichael. The two continued on to write two more musicals, Natural High and I'm Here, God's Here, Now We Can Start. He became a regular at Youth for Christ
Youth for Christ
Youth for Christ is the name of a number of previously unaffiliated evangelical Protestant religious campaigns which led to the creation of Youth for Christ International in 1946....
rallies. Kurt Kaiser would, in time, leave Word and start his own label which he still runs to this day, from his home in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
.
In 1999 Kaiser was invited to Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
to perform for a gathering of dignitaries and guests at the prestigious Museum of History at Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, at the request of the Ambassador of the United States. He also found time to record with Bill Pearce
Bill Pearce
Bill Pearce was an American singer, solo trombonist, nationally syndicated broadcaster and inductee into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame....
("Nightsounds") on the CD A Touch of Gold. Bill Pearce
Bill Pearce
Bill Pearce was an American singer, solo trombonist, nationally syndicated broadcaster and inductee into the National Religious Broadcasters Hall of Fame....
said: "Kurt Kaiser came playing piano through Chicago... he and I hooked up with my trombone and before I knew it we were recording "head arrangements" for Word. Then things at Word really started shaking and Paul Mickelson and Ralph Carmichael were raising the level, using professional sidemen and before we knew it Word records was paying our production fees. We were playing with name people, including members of the Chicago Symphony string section, lead trumpet Bobbie Lewis, Mark McDunn and studio players; John Haynor was playing bass trombone with us. Guys like this were playing backgrounds. We were just at the right place at the right time. I was working hard and new young arrangers came through with good ideas and we were doing albums with top musicians. It was just a gift of God with timing that put me in the middle of all this. I was the only one doing anything at Word in brass work at all apart from a guy in Detroit named Chuck Ohman who was a fine trumpeter whom I had worked with in Percy Crawford
Percy Crawford
Percy Bartimus Crawford was an evangelist and fundamentalist leader who especially emphasized youth ministry. During the late 1950s, he saw the potential of FM radio and UHF television and built the first successful Christian broadcasting network...
's days. I was just blowing bubbles, making 30 or 40 albums over the years - there were so many I lost count. Incredible!"
In 2001 he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
He helped to found the Day Spring Baptist Church in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and is their choir director.
He received the "Faithfulness in Service " award in 2003.
Kaiser conducts choral workshops and performs solo as well. He's described by friends as someone who will constantly try to help and teach anyone he meets. Ken Barker, senior editorial director at Word, recalled one time when he was eating with Kaiser at a restaurant where a young woman was struggling to play the piano to entertain the customers. Kaiser gave the woman a quick clinic on how she could improve her playing.
He continues to be active as a producer as well.
"Three years ago, while sharing tea with my dear friend Katy Stokes," recalls artist Carianne, "I bashfully presented this sketchy idea of a lullaby CD. Katy's eyes brightened as she said, 'Go talk to Kurt!' It took a little prodding, but I finally went to Kurt Kaiser and performed a few of my original lullabies. He immediately started bouncing ideas around and before I knew it, we were off and running…well, that is until everything was put on hold when I found out I was pregnant! The beautiful result is the sweet face you see on the cover of the CD."
Kaiser lives in Waco with his wife. They have four children (all attended Baylor) and ten grandchildren.
Discography
- 1959: Kurt Kaiser Piano (Word W 3093-LP/WST 8035-LP)
- 1962: Preludes to Faith (Word W-3157-LP/WST-8095-LP)
- 1963: Hymntime Sing-Along (Word W-3176-LP/ WST 8110-LP)
- 1965: From London...Kurt Kaiser's Sweeping Strings (Word W-3301-LP/WST-8301-LP)
- 1965: Master Designer (Word W 3322-LP/ WST 8322-LP)
- 1966: Hymns of Prayer (Word W-3227/ WST-8327-LP)
- 1972: Kurt Kaiser: Pass it On (Word WST-8562-LP)
- 1975: An Offering (Word WST-8679-LP)
- 1979: Just For You: Loving Adventure with God (Word WSB-8728 LP)
- 1987: Alone with the Music (Word 701-90460196 CD)
- 1991: The Lost Art of Listening (Word 701-9329-609-CD)
- 1993: Christmas Favorites (Sparrow)
- 1994: Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs (Sparrow)
- 2005: Kaiser: Emmanuel, Fantasie for Violin and Orchestra (Kurt Kaiser Music)