ABOUT KRISTEN

Kristen Hoyt is a multifaceted educator, vocalist, accompanist, arranger, music director, and lifelong liturgical musician in the NYC/NJ area. Born and raised in Northern NJ to a family deeply immersed in the local liturgical music community, Kristen started playing piano at the age of 4 and organ at the age of 8. She has served as a cantor, pianist, organist, and Director of Music in the Diocese of Paterson and the Archdiocese of Newark since 2007.

Since January 2018, Kristen has served as the Assistant Director of Music at St. Teresa of Avila Parish in Summit, NJ. Additionally, she has been the Choral Director at Morris Catholic High School in Denville, NJ since September 2019. Prior to Morris Catholic, Kristen taught general music, keyboard methods, musical theatre, and music therapy for over ten years in public and parochial schools in New Jersey.

Outside of liturgical music, Kristen has opened for the likes of Chaka Khan, Kurt Elling, and John Pizzarelli, and has performed with Swingadelic, Norman Simmons, and the late James Moody. She also has extensive experience musically directing shows across NJ/NYC and excels in working with children and teenagers. 

Education:

BM in Jazz Performance from New Jersey City University

Teaching certificate via Alternate Route from Saint Peter's University

Most notably, she is Henry and Peter's mom.