Music résumé
Don Papenbrock
Organist · Church music director · Choral director · Pianist
Profile
Professional organist, church music director, choral director, and pianist with more than three decades of experience in liturgical music, worship leadership, choral preparation, and organ performance across Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, and Presbyterian traditions.
My work has included weekly worship, choir leadership, recital and concert performance, collaborative music-making, and music ministry development. I value thoughtful service planning, strong ensemble preparation, stylistic versatility, and the role music can play in creating meaningful worship and community.
Appointments
Organist
Central Presbyterian · Atlanta, Georgia | 2025–Present
Organist & Music Director
First United Methodist Church · LaGrange, Georgia | 2020–2025
Organist / Director
Christ Church Episcopal · Norcross, Georgia
Organist / Director
Saint Michael & All Angels Episcopal · Stone Mountain, Georgia
Organist
Good Shepherd Presbyterian · Lilburn, Georgia
Organist
St. Peter’s Episcopal · St. Louis, Missouri
Organist / Director
St. Peter’s Episcopal · Fernandina Beach, Florida
Organist / Director
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church · Smyrna, Georgia
Organist / Director
St. Paul’s Catholic Church · Jacksonville Beach, Florida
Conducting & ensemble leadership
- More than three decades of church choir leadership and ensemble preparation.
- Experience directing volunteer choirs across varied liturgical traditions and musical styles.
- Formerly active in musical theater in Atlanta and Jacksonville.
- Recipient of a Metro Atlanta Theater Award for Music Direction.
Organ & piano
My performance work includes service playing, solo repertoire, collaborative accompaniment, orchestral organ, hymn leadership, and improvisational transitions within worship.
Selected highlights include:
- Service organist at St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City
- Organist for Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 (“Organ Symphony”) with the LaGrange Symphony
- Historically active recitalist for church and community programs
- Extensive repertoire spanning Baroque, Romantic, twentieth-century, contemporary sacred, hymn-based, and liturgical music
Selected performances
Published recordings and selected performances are available throughout the Music section.
Education & training
Jacksonville University
- B.S. Music — Organ & Piano, graduated with honors
- B.S. Business
Georgia Institute of Technology
- B.S. Industrial Engineering