It is an extremely rare case when one discovers their passion and career during third grade. For Christopher Kiser, he is one of those lucky few. The Union Grove Christian School graduate first started piano lessons during third grade after a few years of pleading to his parents. As of today, he has used this talent of his to earn numerous awards as well as minister in his church and school.
“It has been so enjoyable since the beginning,” he stated. His passion first came about when he was staying with his grandmother, who also played the instrument. “When I stayed with her, I liked to listen to her play. It was really interesting,” he said. Christopher has been taking piano lessons from Jean Pollard, a teacher at his school as well as a member of the church he attends, since third grade. In fact, both of them rotate and alternate the time they spend playing the piano at church. When Jean plays the piano during one of the services, Christopher will play the keyboards.
Christopher is only 18 years old but he has been playing for the school choir for six years and during the school’s chapel services since sixth grade. Upon completion of his piano lessons in the first year, he even won first place in the N.C. Christian School Association Fine Arts competition. Since then, he has continue to win that honor 10 other times on the regional, state or national level as well as several second- and third-place finishes and superior ratings. Aside from those achievements, Christopher has also received superior ratings and first-place finishes multiple times at the National Federation of Music Club competition at Wake Forest University.
Awards aside, Christopher is also in demand within the community. In fact, he has been asked to play at nineteen weddings. “Christopher is a good student. He works hard. He is dependable. He was a real asset to our music program. The future looks bright for Kiser. If he uses his talents and ability and fosters them, God will be able to use him greatly,” said Pete Steinhaus, administrator for Union Grove Christian School.
It is not much of a surprise that with his success and joy, Christopher has chosen to study music education at Lee University in Tennessee. “I want to teach choir or band on the college level,” he said. He also mentioned that he would like to be the music director of a church someday in future. For more of the story, do read it here.