Jay rouse - bio
Watch Jay Rouse sit at a piano and play and a few things are immediately evident…
First, there's the thoughtful way he engages his listeners. There's the deep personal artistry, the talent and the gifting. But if you stop there, if you think only, this is a great piano player, you will have missed it. Because there's another desire that drives his passion to play and to create, another desire that drives him to understand, not just notes, but the spaces between the notes. That desire is worship. Put simply, Jay Rouse is a worshiper. The piano is the vehicle that takes him there. If you happen to be in the room then there will be an open door for you. Choose to walk through it and you will worship too.
Ask him about what he is most passionate about and he will say, “having the opportunity to lead people in worship—to help them better understand who they are in Christ.” So, when Jay and his wife Amy go out on worship weekends, which they frequently do, they are clearly operating within their gifting. Working directly with choirs, helping them to understand worship as a way of life and not merely something we “do” is at the heart of his ministry.
This way of ministering has served to take Jay into countless venues, working with a wide range of artists. He has toured extensively in the US and abroad with Sandi Patty as her Music Director and accompanist. He recorded her American Songbook project in London, traveled to Japan and Korea, and Carnegie Hall.
Additionally, Jay has worked with many artists, including Bill and Gloria Gaither, the Gaither Vocal Band, Kristen Chenoweth, Kathy Trocolli, Buddy Greene and VERITAS. For many years, Jay served as vice-president of Publishing at PraiseGathering Music Group composing and arranging some of Christian music's top-selling choral anthems. In addition he was the Editor of the Medallion Music catalog for the Lorenz Corporation. Jay is one of the leading arrangers, orchestrators and producers in the choral print industry.
All of this has created a body of work that comprises more than four hundred octavos and over fifty best-selling choral musicals. He has also published works with the Shawnee Press School Market, Gaither Music Company, Word Music, Brentwood Music, Lillenas, Lifeway Worship and Integrity Worship. As a keyboard artist and arranger, Jay has many books & CD’s in print.
Most recently, Jay has taken the position of Artist in Residence at Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City. You’ll find him at the piano most Sunday’s - he loves the opportunity to be a part of a vibrant music department in such a thriving church.
Born and raised in Florida, the Gulf coast with its ocean waves and salt breezes is the place he likes best to recharge, the place that feels most like home. When he's not working, you might find him there with his family, reading a good book, drinking sweet tea with a twist of lime. Throw in some good barbeque, a slice of key lime pie or carrot cake and that's pretty much all he needs. And that too is worship.
Jay and Amy live in Edmond, Oklahoma. They are the parents of two children, Thatcher, living and working in Orlando, Florida with his wife, Ingrid, and Londyn, a social worker in the Edmond, Oklahoma school system.
quick facts
350+ compositions and arrangements published
30+ major sacred choral works
50+ best selling a capella arrangements
10+ best selling piano books
Dove Award Winner
Hometown: Miami, FL
Wife: Amy Rouse, also a talented musician and big part of Jay’s ministry
Kids: 2, Thatcher and Londyn