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Julian Keith Getty (born 16 December 1974) is a
Northern Irish The people of Northern Ireland are all people born in Northern Ireland and having, at the time of their birth, at least one parent who is a British Nationality Law, British citizen, an Irish nationality law, Irish citizen or is otherwis ...
businessman, Christian singer and songwriter, best known for writing the song " In Christ Alone" in 2001 with veteran songwriter and worship leader Stuart Townend. Getty and his wife, Kristyn, also release music under the musical duo Keith & Kristyn Getty.


Overview

Getty is a composer of Christian hymns. His song " In Christ Alone" is sung by an estimated 100 million people worldwide each year and was voted the third most popular hymn of all time in Britain on BBC's
Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns, worship songs and inspirational performances in churches of varying denominations from around the UK alongside interviews and stories reflecting how Ch ...
. He has since written or published 38 of the top 500 songs sung in churches in the USA and UK as measured by CCLI. As a recording artist, Getty's album ''Confessio: Irish American Roots'' was nominated for a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for Best Gospel Roots Album and he has received two
GMA Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee excep ...
. Often considered an ambassador for hymns, he has performed at venues including
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
,
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
,
Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
, and
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
. In 2017 ''
Christianity Today ''Christianity Today'' is an evangelical Christian media magazine founded in 1956 by Billy Graham. It is published by Christianity Today International based in Carol Stream, Illinois. ''The Washington Post'' calls ''Christianity Today'' "eva ...
'' described Getty and his wife Kristyn as "preeminent" hymn writers whose songs have "changed the way evangelicals worship." In 2018 Getty was named
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
by
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
for contributions to "Music and Modern Hymn Writing," making him the first contemporary church musician to receive this award. Getty and his wife also own and operate their own record label, touring and song publishing company known as Getty Music. The organization hosts an annual church music conference called Sing! in Nashville, TN, attended by over 7,000 people. The couple also co-founded a charitable non-profit, the Getty Music Foundation, to implement global educational initiatives.


Early life

Getty was born in
Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...
, Northern Ireland, to Helen Getty (née Irwin) and John Getty. He is the eldest of four children. Getty began making music at age 11, learning to play the classical guitar; at 12 years old he began playing the flute. During school, Getty was influenced by classical music, Irish music, and church music of all kinds. As a young adult, he studied music at
St Chad's College St Chad's College is one of the Colleges of Durham University#Types of College, recognised colleges of Durham University. Founded in 1904 as St Chad's Hall for the training of Church of England clergy, the college ceased theological training in ...
,
Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...
, graduating with his Bachelor of Arts in 1995. As a student, Getty completed special conducting opportunities at the Canford Summer School of Music and the
Tanglewood Music Center The Tanglewood Music Center is an annual summer music academy in Lenox, Massachusetts, United States, in which emerging professional musicians participate in performances, master classes and workshops. The center operates as a part of the Tanglew ...
in Massachusetts. Getty participated in a summer master class under Irish flautist Sir James Galway.


Personal life

Kristyn met Keith Getty in 2002 after being introduced by Kristyn's uncle,
John Lennox John Carson Lennox (born 7 November 1943) is a mathematician, bioethicist, and Christian apologist originally from Ireland. He has written many books on religion, ethics, the relationship between science and God (like his books, ''Has Scienc ...
. Kristyn was attending a nearby university and asked Getty for some musical advice. After dating for two years, the couple married on 16 June 2004. The couple have four children. Getty and his wife live between
Portstewart Portstewart () is a small seaside town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 7,854 people in the 2021 United Kingdom census. It is a seaside resort, neighbouring both Coleraine in County Londonderry and Portrush in Cou ...
, Northern Ireland and
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
with their four daughters.


Career


Keith and Kristyn Getty

Keith and his wife Kristyn write and release hymns together, in addition to performing around the world. They have also co-authored a book on congregational worship called ''Sing!''


Children's albums

Keith and Kristyn together have written and produced a number of children's worship albums. * 2005: ''Songs That Jesus Said'', a collection of songs for children * 2016: ''Getty Kids Hymnal: In Christ Alone'' * 2017: ''Getty Kids Hymnal: For the Cause'' * 2018: ''Getty Kids Hymnal: Family Hymn Sing'' * 2019: ''Getty Kids Hymnal: Family Carol Sing'' * 2020: ''Evensong: Hymns and Lullabies at the Close of Day'' ''Evensong: Hymns and Lullabies at the Close of Day'' went to Billboard number 1 in 2020.


Orchestrator

In addition to his work with his wife as Keith & Kristyn Getty, Getty has also orchestrated or produced music for a number of other projects. These include orchestrations for
Michael W. Smith Michael Whitaker Smith (born October 7, 1957) is an American musician who has charted in both contemporary Christian music, contemporary Christian and mainstream charts. His biggest success in mainstream music was in 1991 when "Place in This Worl ...
's 2004 '' Healing Rain'' album, McDonald's television commercials, and Silvascreen label movie soundtrack recordings ''Music from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy'' and ''Once upon a Time: The Essential Ennio Morricone''. He wrote and produced the music for the 1998 C. S. Lewis International Centenary Celebrations.


"In Christ Alone" song

In 2001, Stuart Townend and Getty wrote the song "In Christ Alone" with the purpose of creating a modern hymn that would explain the life of Christ. They released it on the Kingsway album '' New Irish Hymns'', featuring vocalists
Máire Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...
, Margaret Becker, and Joanne Hogg. The song gained popularity, and by 2005 it was named by a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
''
Songs of Praise ''Songs of Praise'' is a BBC Television religious programme that presents Christian hymns, worship songs and inspirational performances in churches of varying denominations from around the UK alongside interviews and stories reflecting how Ch ...
'' survey as the ninth best loved hymn of all time, and in their 2010 survey was named second best hymn of all time. The British Hymn Society nominated "In Christ Alone" as one of the top five hymns of all time, and BBC One's "Songs of Praise" nominated "In Christ Alone" as a top 10 hymn in 2012. Since CCLI began tracking the weekly Top 100 songs from their license reporting in 2017, "In Christ Alone" has not once fallen from the list, and more of Getty's compositions appear in CCLI’s Top 500 Songs in the UK than those of any other songwriter.


Recognition

Keith Getty received the O.B.E. (
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
) from Queen Elizabeth II, becoming the first church musician of the modern era to be given the award for contribution to music and hymn writing. Getty has received honorary doctorates from Lancaster Bible College and
Dallas Baptist University Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a private Baptist university in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1898 as Decatur Baptist College, Dallas Baptist University currently operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst. It is affiliated with the Baptist ...
, and he has been awarded the Freedom of the City of Lisburn. He is Honorary President and founder of the New Irish Arts, and Keith and Kristyn were both named fellows in 2019 of The Royal School of Church Music. The album North Coast Sessions received a Dove award in 2019 for Inspirational Album of the Year. A number of Getty Music Albums have been nominated for a Dove Award: * The album, "''Awaken the Dawn''" was nominated for Inspirational Album of the year 2008. * The album "''Hymns for the Christian Life''" was also nominated for a Dove award in 2013. * Getty Kids Hymnal-For the Cause – Children's Music Album of the Year (2018) * Getty Kids Hymnal-Family Carol Sing – Children's Music Album of the Year (2020) * His Mercy Is More (the Hymnal of Matt Boswell and Matt Papa) – Inspirational Album of the Year (2020) * Elizabeth (with Ellie Holcomb) – Roots/Americana Song of the Year (2020) ''Evensong'', Kristyn's album of hymns and lullabies to help people through the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
hit number one on USA Billboard Children's Album Charts.


TV and special appearances

The couple has also appeared on national television (
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
,
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
), most notably on
Public Television Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive f ...
(PBS) in 2015 to 45 + million homes with their Christmas Music special, ''Joy—An Irish Christmas,'' in 2021 for BBC Northern Ireland "At home with the Gettys" and a TBN in 2019 special filmed live at the world famous Grand Ole Opry House. In 2017, the hymn writers performed for US Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Repub ...
and his wife Second Lady Karen Pence at the Vice President's residence. In addition the couple have performed for President George W. Bush, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, South Korean President
Lee Myung-Bak Lee Myung-bak (; born 19 December 1941), often referred to by his initials MB, is a South Korean businessman and politician who served as the tenth president of South Korea from 2008 to 2013. Before his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engi ...
, the Enthronement of the
Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
and for former UK Prime Minister
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
.


Discography

•           ''2002:''
Tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...
''Keith Getty and Kristyn Lennox (Getty)'' •           ''2003:'' New Irish Hymns 2 ''(with Margaret Becker and Joanne Hogg)'' •           ''2004:'' New Irish Hymns 3: Incarnation ''(with Margaret Becker and Joanne Hogg)'' •           ''2005:'' New Irish Hymns 4 ''(with Margaret Becker and Joanne Hogg)'' •           ''2005:'' Songs That Jesus Said''; a collection of songs for children'' •           ''2007:'' In Christ Alone


See also

* New Irish Hymns (album series)


References


External links


Official Getty Music Website

''Joy – An Irish Christmas Tour'' Homepage

Advent and Christmas Songs by Keith Getty, in ''Reformed Worship''

Article from Calvin College


* ttp://www.christianitytoday.com/music/reviews/2007/inchristalone.html Review of ''In Christ Alone'' album in Christianity Today by Andree Farias
"The Story Behind the Song 'In Christ Alone'" article in Christianity Today by Linda Owen

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary topical index of Getty/Townend hymns
{{DEFAULTSORT:Getty, Keith 1974 births Living people 20th-century Calvinist and Reformed Christians 20th-century evangelicals 20th-century folk musicians from Northern Ireland 20th-century male singers from Northern Ireland 21st-century Calvinist and Reformed Christians 21st-century evangelicals 21st-century folk musicians from Northern Ireland 21st-century male singers from Northern Ireland Alumni of St Chad's College, Durham British performers of Christian music Christian hymnwriters from Northern Ireland Evangelicals from Northern Ireland Male folk singers from Northern Ireland Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Friends' School, Lisburn Performers of contemporary worship music