December 15, 2022

It’s a busy Christmas season for Jean Goldsby. A stalwart of the Fairfax/Loudoun chorus music scene, Jean will be performing in four concerts with the groups she has led or been involved with for four decades: the Herndon Town Square Singers and the Treble Clefs.  She’s also directing the Christmas cantata that she has crafted for the Chapel at Lansdowne Woods: Messages of Peace, Joy, and Love.

She’s busy, but that’s okay with Jean. She says, “Music is always the most important part of my celebration at Christmas. The meaning of the holiday is, of course, the birth of Christ. But the manner in which I celebrate? That’s always with music.”

Jean is the director of the choir at the Chapel. It’s a position she has held for about nine years, so she’s led a lot of Christmas music services. This is the first time that she’s created her own cantata, though. While Jean selected the music from among many classic favorites (including Bach, Handel, and a medley of carols), the narrative (which will be read by the Chapel’s Eileen Starkey) that unites this music is her own. She based her writing on the messages of hope that she finds in the gospel when the angels announce the coming of Christ to shepherds and others.

“Jean is a true professional with vast and varied musical experience,” says Laura Nickles, who plays piano at the Chapel. “More than that, she has become a very dear friend. We all love the music she picks and we love her.  And each other! The Chapel Choir is a small group but we enjoy our time together and care about one another. That love comes out in the music.”

The Treble Clefs singing group. Jean recently stepped down as the Treble Clef’s leader, but she still sings with them. She’s second from right on the bottom row.

Jean was raised in Erie, PA and has been involved in music and church as long as she can remember, both singing and playing the organ. She and her husband Kenneth moved to the area in the 1970s, when Kenneth was transferred to work on robots at Fairfax Hospital. Jean raised her family, worked at airlines, and became a fixture in local music as a leader of choral groups and as a member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church.

“Kenneth didn’t sing,” says Jean. “He was our videographer and would tirelessly record our many performances over the years.”

Jean and Kenneth arrived at Lansdowne Woods in 2001. “It was an anxious time,” Jean explains. “”United Airlines, my employer, lost two airplanes in the terror attacks. I was laid off at the very same time that we put a deposit down on our new home. I was worried we would be asked to leave, but it worked out. There was hope in the midst of the storm.”

Jean and Kenneth (Kenneth passed away in 2013) did not let fear define their story. Neither does Jean let obstacles stand in the way of her Christmas this year. She suffers from back pain and so has stepped back from choral leadership roles, but she’s still performing (four concerts!) and she’s still sending messages of peace, love, and joy with the beautiful music she brings to the Chapel.

All are invited to worship at the Chapel on December 18 at 10am. Just tell the Lansdowne Woods gate person that you’re there for Jean’s cantata. And wish them a Merry Christmas.

Jean Goldsby leads the Chapel Choir.