Jordan
Critz isn’t a household name, but I’ll bet you have heard his work
before. A true renaissance man in terms of his music, Jordan is
comfortable with playing pop or Pachelbel or composing music for
Porsche. He really is a jack-of-all-trades: performer, composer, and
producer. Although music is a huge part of his life, it isn’t his only
passion.
Music was an important
part of Jordan’s life even as a child. At the age of 5, he started
playing the piano and by age 7, he began experimenting with
improvisation and composition. His father was also a musician, who served as a minister of
music for a local church, in addition to his full-time job in corporate
America. As a result, Jordan was exposed to quite a bit of gospel music
and traditional hymns.
Despite being grounded
in gospel music, Jordan’s musical interests remain quite eclectic. He
doesn’t like to stick with one genre, but enjoys exploring multiple
genres from classical to classic rock. His musical exploration has lead
to growth and has made Jordan Critz the man he is today.
“I grew up doing a
lot of composing and classical music,” Jordan explains. “Honestly, I
don’t like to stick with just one genre. I think it is really
important as a musician to grow. We change as people. I’m not the same
person now that I was at 18. I have changed so much. You learn and you
grow and music does the same thing. It is important to let the music
move you.”
Jordan has enjoyed a
successful music career. He has had the opportunity to compose music for
ads for products such as Mini-Cooper, Porsche and CBS. He composed the
music for a documentary that garnered 3 Telly Awards.
In addition, he continues to be a full-time producer, composer
and performer.
However, music is not
the only thing that has shaped him. His faith and his family have always
been and still remain an important part of who he is. His latest
self-titled EP is his first foray into the world of contemporary
Christian music.
“Faith and family are
the most important things…in that order. I grew up with a great family
and we’re still super close.”
Jordan’s faith
embodies everything he does, whether it is composing for commercials or
cranking out rock tunes. For him, music is a precious gift given to us
by God that transcends all barriers.
“Music
is something that God gave us. Music is the one thing that has no
barriers in language. You can reach people and move them in ways that
the spoken word might never enter. It is important to know that if you
have a gift that it is a God given gift, really hone it and be very
careful with it. “
So how does this
professional musician measure success? Jordan doesn’t turn to his
commercial work or the award-winning documentary he composed music for,
or even his latest EP. Instead he looks at success a bit differently
than most of us. He looks at success through the lens of his faith.
“I think success is
completely backwards in how we view it. I think it is important to know
the truth about what success really is. In the eyes of everyone, it is
pretty much what you do. It is all wrapped up into how much applause you
have gotten. It is something that Christian artists really fall into as
well. It is so easy to not feel successful if certain things are not
happening.
Success has nothing to
do with that. Success has nothing to do with numbers. I view success as
[using] what God has gifted you [with] and doing that.”
We
all crave praise and adoration. We all want the applause and the
adoration of others. Yet we forget that just by using the gifts that God
has given us that we are successful in His eyes. Whether our gift is
music or math, sports or statistics, being the best we can be, as we use
the precious gifts that God has given us, is success. The applause and
adoration of others is nice, but are hollow treasures stored in clay
pots.
|