Eben Drost is a pastoral musician serving in both the Music Department and Campus Pastor’s Office at app. His primary instrument is piano, and he has a background in jazz, classical, and popular music. He studied music at app (’11) and earned a Masters in Theology at Fuller Seminary (’18).
Growing up in Redlands, California, Eben studied piano and counted Beethoven as his hero. In high school, he formed a jazz combo which came to be known as “Eben Flow.” Throughout his younger years, he played keyboard and guitar in various bands, of various genres and levels of notoriety in their local contexts.
Since graduating from college, Eben’s primary musical context has been the worshipping church. He served as an organist and choir accompanist at Trinity Lutheran Church (Santa Barbara), the Worship Director at Shoreline Community Church (Santa Barbara) and Missio Community Church (Pasadena), and was part of the team that planned and led worship at Fuller Seminary’s chapel services for two years. He played keyboard for the Urbana 18 Worship Team, which led over eleven thousand college students in worship, and served as the band’s music director. Their live album, “Faithful Witness,” can be found on all major platforms for streaming and purchasing music. He currently serves as the Worship Team Director at app, teaches a course called “Music in the Worshipping Church,” and will begin leading the Jazz Ensemble in the Fall of 2020.
Eben met his wife Megann while they were students at app, through their mutual friend (and now Music Department faculty member) Daniel Gee. They married in 2013, and live in Carpinteria with their golden retriever, Ollie.