by Becky St. Clair

Kristian Leukert officially started at PUC in July; he is half-time faculty in the department of music and half-time in Enrollment, also helping with music-focused recruiting. He and his family moved to Angwin in June from southern California, and we are having so much fun getting to know Kristian, and we wanted to give you that opportunity, as well. Fun fact: Kristian will be bringing the Symphonic Wind Ensemble back to PUC this fall! If you are interested in being part of this winds and percussion ensemble, contact the music office: music@puc.edu or 707-965-6201. (Pro tip: You don’t have to be a student to participate!)

Kristian, where did you grow up?

I grew up in the Phoenix area at Thunderbird Adventist Academy. My dad was a choir director, so I spent many hours of my little life under the piano at his choir rehearsals or behind the piano when he was giving voice lessons. I lived and breathed the music department world for so many of my formative years.

What are your primary instruments?

My two primary instruments are trumpet and voice. I started playing trumpet in third grade. I wanted to play clarinet, but my brother had a hand-me-down trumpet he had ditched, so that’s what I was told I had to play. Even so, I loved to practice, so I was in the high school band by 5^th grade and the high school brass ensemble by 7^th grade. 

I continued to play trumpet in every ensemble I could, eventually playing in La Sierra University band, brass quintet, orchestra, jazz band, New England Youth Ensemble, and Loma Linda University Church Brass Ensemble, as well as other community bands, orchestras, and ensembles. I also had the opportunity to participate in a few recording sessions with Vivendi Games.

Voice was a journey I began around the time I started to talk. Both of my parents were talented vocalists, so we were always singing in our house and community. Some of my fondest singing memories while growing up were getting to sing duets with my daddy, Klaus Leukert. I also studied voice with him when in high school. 

I kept pursuing vocal studies through college and graduate school, singing solos, worship leading, and participating in many groups including La Sierra University Chamber Singers and University Singers, University of California, Irvine University Singers and Men in Blaque, church choirs at La Sierra University, Loma Linda University, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Immanuel Presbyterian Church, and a tenor sub for the Los Angeles Master Chorale. I also recorded as a tenor for a few recording sessions with Vivendi Games.

Where did you attend college and what degrees did you receive? 

I did my undergrad at La Sierra University, getting BMus degrees in trumpet performance and music education. I then went to University of California, Irvine and earned a Masters of Fine Arts in vocal performance.

How did you become involved in education?

That’s mostly my father’s fault. I grew up around the music department and wanted to be just like my dad and it was my dream my entire young life to be a music teacher like my daddy. That’s why I pursued music education—not only to follow in my father’s footsteps but to provide students with the same joys and challenges and memories I had enjoyed throughout high school.

Tell us a little bit about your career thus far. 

After graduate school I started teaching private brass and voice lessons as well as working at various churches as a tenor and section leader. I also sang and played where I was able to get work. I did that for a couple of years before starting my classroom teaching journey at Newbury Park Adventist Academy, where I worked for six years. 

At NPAA, I taught band for grades 5-12, jazz band, choir and select choir, and I taught geography. I taught a few instrumental lessons, too. We accepted the call to Monterey Bay Academy after that, where I taught high school band, jazz band, choir, and select choir for four years. I also taught many private lessons and started a community beginning band program once a week. 

After MBA, we accepted a call to Loma Linda Academy where through the years I taught three junior high choirs and two high school choirs, as well as Music Appreciation and Music Recording and Technology classes. I taught at LLA for nine years, but took a break in the middle where I went to work at Loma Linda University Church as the pastor for worship and music. I enjoyed that role for two years.

What was the biggest surprise to you about teaching?

I have SOOOOO many observations on that one, but I guess two of the most surprising are:

1) The level of accomplishment in my group was not just related to, but almost completely dependent on, my ability and effort as a teacher. As my skills grew, so did my ensembles. And school to school, people commented that they sounded very similar. Which meant if there were issues or we were struggling with something, I knew EXACTLY who to blame! [hide my face in shame] 

2) Everything I look forward to as a teacher was absent during covid. All the best bits were missing—interaction with students, collaborative music-making, gauging understanding and cues based on body language and facial expressions, etc. etc. etc. It was all missing. Rough times for teachers and students. And parents. And everyone, honestly.

Tell us a little bit about your family.

My family is amazing. My wife is the VP for student and spiritual life here at PUC; she’s brilliant, hard-working, efficient, super talented, engaging, and all-around amazing. We have four kiddos, the oldest two—Fiona and Gared—are out of the nest already. Fiona works at Voice of Prophecy in Colorado; Gared is a freshman film major at Southern Adventist University in Tennessee. We also have two girls at PUC Prep: Liana is in 11^th grade and Kayleigh is in 9^th. All four  of them are outstanding in their own right. 

Who is one of your favorite musicians, and why?

Herbert Blomstedt is such a legend and fabulous musician. I have always admired his career and artistry. And his recording of Brahms’ Requiem is my all-time favorite representation of the work. And he’s still going strong, conducting at 98 years old!

What has been one of your favorite musical experiences thus far in life, and why?

I’ve had many happy musical high points, but I think my favorites all come down to personal and spiritual connection: singing duets with my dad, experiencing my students digging deep and giving their all in performance for Jesus, etc.

When you retire, what do you want to look back on as your greatest achievement?

Probably just a life lived well for the Kingdom. I’m not desiring awards or degrees or accolades; I guess that comes down to lives I’ve touched and changed for the better.

What is something people might be surprised to learn about you?

No surprises. I’m very boring.

It’s summer, you’re cruising down a coastal highway with the windows down and music cranked up; what are you listening to?

Depends on the mood, but maybe…Harry Connick Jr.’s Blue Light?