Super excited to announce new guest, Chris Keeney, to The Story!
Originally from mid-state Virginia, Chris has lived in Lancaster for most of his life. He earned a BM from Lebanon Valley College as a music and recording major, and then jumped right into teaching and performing.
Over the past 18 years, Chris has taught many hundreds of guitar students, both collegiately and through private lessons. At his height, he was teaching approximately 70 private students a week. Though he doesn’t have much time for independent teaching these days, he does keep a few individual students, but most of his teaching time is devoted to the collegiate world. He is currently head of the guitar program at Lancaster Bible College, and will be taking over the program at Franklin and Marshall College in the Fall of 2022. Previously, he ran the guitar program at Albright College from 2005-2010.
As a player, Chris has been fortunate to have had a wide range of gigging and touring opportunities. Over the years, he’s played with many jazz and rock groups, toured in extreme metal bands, played in regional orchestras, and joined backing bands for national and international artists.
Since 2010, Chris has been heavily involved in the theater world in Lancaster. Beginning at American Music Theater, and then branching out into many others, he’s been involved with various performance venues and theater companies for the past 12 years. He’s worked with The Fulton, AMT, Prima, Servant Stage, and others. Since mid-2017, Chris has been first-call guitarist at the Fulton theater, and is currently playing in the band for Jersey Boys.
Also since mid-2017, Chris has been the head of worship and technology at Saint James Episcopal Church in downtown Lancaster. He runs all contemporary music (which includes the well-known Saturday night secular music mass that St James has run for years), while also running all streaming, video, and technology. In addition, he plays oud for contemplative services and events, including the popular First Friday Compline.
Previously, Chris was the band director and recording engineer for Victory Church of Lancaster for over 15 years. In addition to his music work, Chris is also a mixing and mastering engineer for Immersive Music Media Group, which is an immersive sound studio and post-production house in Lancaster.
When not working, Chris enjoys spending time with his wife and kids.