Jayson Keeton was born and raised in a small town in Upstate New York, on the shores of Lake Ontario. He began playing the piano and organ at a young age, which led to playing his first church service at the age of nine.  Since that first service, Jayson has consistently served as both a regular and substitute organist and pianist for several churches, having held regular positions with churches in New York, Illinois, and North Carolina.  Jayson studied composition at the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, just outside of New York City.  Jayson is also active as a choral singer, having performed with festival choruses around the country.  In 2016, he participated in the National Lutheran Hymn Festival, celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.  This series of performances culminated at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas.  In 2019, Jayson sang Pepper Choplin’s cantata Heaven’s Child at Carnegie Hall in New York City, conducted by the composer.  Most recently Jayson performed at St. George’s Church in Eisenach, Germany:  the church where J.S. Bach was baptized and where Jayson’s 9th-great-grandfather Johann Christoph Bach was the organist.

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In addition to church music, Jayson is also passionate about theatre.  He has served as a musical director, conductor, pit musician, or ensemble member for over 75 productions at all levels of theatre — from local community theatre to professional theatre in New York City.  Recent collaborations include productions with NC State University, William Peace University, and East Carolina University.  In collaboration with composer Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell), Jayson produced and wrote the musical arrangements for Dreamscape, a musical revue of Schwartz’s work.  At the time, it was the only Stephen Schwartz revue in existence.  Jayson served as a member of the ensemble in a 2015 concert production of Jason Robert Brown’s Parade, conducted by the composer, as well as the 25th Anniversary Concert performance of Crazy for You, directed by Tony award winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman.  Both productions were presented at Lincoln Center in New York City.

 

In Charleston, Jayson serves as the Director of Music and Organist at First Presbyterian Church, as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Charleston Civic Chorus, and as the accompanist for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra Chorus.