Longtime Church Musician to stop in Crossfield on Cross Canada Tour

Canadian church musician and composer Ron Klusmeier will be making a stop at Crossfield’s United Church Sept. 13 on his final tour.

The tour will benefit the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, and will feature a pick-up choir to lead the congregation in song starting at 7:30 p.m.

In his 41-year career composing and playing music in churches across Canada, Klusmeier says he loves visiting the smaller towns.

“I have been to just about every small town across the country,” he said. “I have made it a habit to get to as many small towns as possible. I have been travelling for 41 years and I have visited about 2,000 churches over the years.”

Klusmeier worked for the National United Church of Canada offices, and even then said he would make an effort to visit as many smaller communities as he could.

This tour will bring him to 200 communities across the country, spanning from August of this year until June of 2013.

“I have been there twice (Crossfield) over the years,” said Klusmeier. “The last time I was there would have been about 10 years ago. I picked out 200 communities I have visited in the past. I just can’t go everywhere in one year.”

Klusmeier said choosing the Canadian Foodgrains Bank as the charity he would support during his tour was easy because its ownership covers 15 denominations, and its reach is worldwide.

“When I started planning this tour a year ago, I wanted to do a tour that would benefit other people. I have always been passionate about food banks,” said Klusmeier. “They sent me to the horn of Africa at the end of June. They wanted me to see some of their projects first hand and wow, what an experience. I was really life changing. I knew I made the right choice.”

Twenty-five per cent of the $20 admission will go towards the charity.

The pick-up choir, which will lead the concert, will be a number of local volunteers who wish to sing the hymns of the evening, and will be asked to show up an hour early to go over the music.

“We invite people to come in an hour before the performance and we put this choir together,” said Klusmeier. “It is a thrill. What is so often the thrill is to find out how much of it they already know.”

Crossfield United Church Minister Brenda Watt says she is excited for the concert and hopes her congregation and members of the public attend.

“We are a farming community. The United Church of Canada has supported the Canadian Foodgrains Bank for years. This is our way to support the world,” she said.

“I would say for anyone who knows his music, this is your chance to stand up and say thank you for your music.”

For more information about Klusmeier, or this event, visit www.musiklus.com