Karen Schneider Kirner of South Bend, IN has served on the staff of Campus Ministry at the University of Notre Dame from 1997-2020 as a Choral Program DIrector and Organist, working primarily with the Notre Dame Folk Choir and Handbell Choir. She has also served as a full-time music minister in Manhasset, NY, and Dayton, OH. She holds degrees from Ball State University (B.M.) and Yale University (M.M./M.A.R.), with further studies in voice, harpsichord, piano, organ, and conducting from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria. Fostering liturgical musicians for the Church has been a joyful part of her career.
Touring with ensembles at Notre Dame and as an organ recitalist has taken Ms. Schneider Kirner across the U.S. and globally, including China, Australia, East Africa, Canada, Mexico, Western Europe, and the U.K. She has many published choral and handbell works through World Library Publications/GIA. By late 2020, a twenty-psalm collection will be released by The Liturgical Press: Let the Peoples Praise You: Psalms for the Liturgical Year. She especially enjoys opportunities to serve as a music minister with husband Scott, a tenor and liturgical guitarist, twin daughters and violinists Emma and Claire, and son Joe, a cellist.
