By Mackenzie Grizzard | Staff Writer
Nearly seven years after the death of musical icon Kurt Kaiser, Baylor hosted his family, the community and a packed crowd of students and faculty to reflect on the impact Kaiser’s music had on the world of contemporary Christian music.
In this year’s third installment of Baylor’s Readers Meet the Author Series, Bob Darden, retired professor of journalism, was joined by Dr. Terry York, retired professor of Christian ministry and church music. York’s recently published work, “Kurt Kaiser: Icon and Conscience of Contemporary Christian Music” highlights the musical legacy of Kurt Kaiser, an American contemporary church music composer and arranger who lived in Waco almost 60 years.
“The subject of today’s book is someone that I would describe as a real icon,” Provost Nancy Brickhouse said. “Not only locally, but to anybody that knows anything about Christian music, particularly contemporary Christian music.”
Kaiser was the recipient of Baylor’s 2017 Pro Ecclesia Medal of Service and was the former director of Baylor’s Religious Hour Choir and Waco Symphony Orchestra. According to Kaiser’s obituary, he and his family were longtime members of the historic Seventh and James Baptist church, and even helped start Dayspring Baptist Church in Waco.
“Kurt was an outstanding classical musician, composer, arranger, performer and conductor,” York said. “He would write pieces for the Waco Symphony and was the president of it.”
Kaiser’s prominence in the greater Baylor and Waco community established a legacy of awe among several generations, many of which gathered for this lecture.
“I was fortunate, as some of you here were, to be at Seventh and James in the 1970s, where Kurt played Wednesdays and Sunday nights,” Darden said. “It was so astonishing to sit as an 18, 19-year-old and know ‘Hey, he’s somebody, and he’s at my church.'”
York joked that throughout his research, he was continuously searching for “dirt” on Kaiser, but was surprised when he didn’t find any, he said.
“He didn’t have to preach to anyone, he just lived it,” York said. “And he was going to live the best life of a Christ follower [that] he could.”
Throughout the process of writing and researching for his book, York detailed how he stayed in close contact with the Kaiser family and how they contributed during the process.
“I did a ton of research… there was literally a little house full of material as well as interviews,” York said. “The family gave me free access to materials that Kurt has collected along the way.”
York said that when Kaiser’s widow, Pat, mentioned finding someone to write a book about her husband’s story, he immediately felt drawn to the cause.
“I had this urge inside of me — ‘Man, I’d like to do that,'” York said. “But I didn’t know if that was my ego or if that was the Holy Spirit.”
Kurt Kaiser’s legacy lives on not just within the walls of Seventh and James Baptist Church, but in generations of Christian music.
“It doesn’t matter where you are; if it’s inside you, you want your music to be the very best it can be,” York said. “No matter the style, you want it to be biblically sound and connected. You want the church to be able to relate to it, and you want your own life to be lived so it brings no besmirching to your work.”
