Ryan Brunkhurst: Members of the choir he leads are old
enough to be his grandparents. – UMNS picture.
Teen musician steps up to lead church choir
Ryan Brunkhurst: Members of the choir he leads are old
enough to be his grandparents. – UMNS picture.
By JOHN GORDON
“I love hymns,” he said. “I love taking a hymn and just putting my own style into it and just playing the way I like to play.”
Ryan volunteered for the job last year when the church needed to find a new organist.
The Rev Janet Steger, Pastor of Mount Gretna UMC, said: “We did not have a choir director, and there might not be music, special music, anthems and such for Christmas, so he decided that he had to do something because he loves Christmas.
“And so he came to me and he said, ‘You know, that’s not acceptable to me, so I will lead the choir.’ ”
Ryan first played the organ at the church when he was 11 – and barely able to reach the pedals. His first introduction to music came when he was three.
“My grandma taught me how to just play some of the basic things,” he said. “She was the organist at her church at 12.”
His mother, Tracie, encouraged him to pursue the choir director’s position. Said Mrs Brunkhurst: “He takes it upon himself to do these things and he looks forward to it, and he really puts all his efforts into it. We often say that he’s a 60-year-old man trapped in a 15-year-old’s body."
Ryan hopes to continue his musical pursuit after high school. He wants to get a doctoral degree in music, play for a church and perform. – United Methodist News Service.
John Gordon is a freelance producer in Marshall,