Music at First Unitarian
Music is a central part of service at First Unitarian, with occasional services dedicated entirely to musical performances in lieu of a sermon.
Two in-house ensembles, the choir and jam group, perform once a month. With several professional musicians in our congregation, it’s not unusual to hear solos or small ensembles from membership. You may hear Bach or Chopin, a renaissance choral piece, a Joni Mitchell or Stevie Wonder cover, a trio of folk singers, or a local artist. Each program is specifically curated for a given Sunday.
Our music program is led by music director and pianist Travis Reynolds and choir director & jam group facilitator Nathan Fratzke, who also cantors and offers support on piano and guitar.
Join Our Musical Groups
Personnel
Travis Reynolds, Music Director
Travis Reynolds is a composer and pianist originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, now based in Los Angeles. Described as “musically intriguing… [and] extremely memorable” (I Care If You Listen), his music has received regular performances around the globe, including Carnegie Hall, Kaufman Music Center, and the Kennedy Center.
Honors include the winner of tenor Gregory Wiest’s call for scores for his song cycle Birds Gone South, the winner of Arcady’s 2022 Emerging Artist Composition Competition, and a finalist for the NYC Piano Composers Symposium at Columbia University. A selection of his art songs were released on LYNX’s debut album beautiful small things, and are published on New Music Shelf.
When he is not composing, he works as a collaborative pianist and teacher. He is currently in his eighth year with First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles.
Nathan Fratzke, Choir Director
A native of Wilton Iowa, Nathan Fratzke is a conductor, pianist, vocalist, composer/arranger, teacher, and creative. He currently serves as Choir Director and facilitator of the Jam Group, the community cover band, at First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles (UULA). Outside of UULA, he regularly collaborates throughout Los Angeles as a pianist and vocalist with a wide range of musicians, from singer/songwriters to hip-hop artists, and is a member of the pop/rock band Sound Siren. He also shares piano offerings in collaboration with breathwork practitioners, spiritual practitioners, and healers to assist in creating nurturing spaces for those in need, and at various types of services and ceremonies. He offers private lessons and coaching in piano, voice, guitar, (western) music theory, and creative direction.
He holds firm to the notion that we are all here to help each other in the ways unique to us. He brings to the collective a coherent field, significant musical prowess and beauty, alignment-based joy, and an open heart.
He completed coursework for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Music at the University of Southern California in 2020, and holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Missouri (Columbia), and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Wartburg College.