Our Staff

Kristiana McCombs is a native of Illinois, where she grew up in a homeschool environment that was conservative Christian but rich in musical inspiration. Starting with classical training in piano and cello, she grew up as a regular member of children’s choir, church band, and youth orchestra. Then she exchanged the Midwestern cornfields for the mountains of Tennessee to earn her bachelor’s degrees in cello performance and music education at Lee University, where she discovered the beauty and expansiveness of liturgical traditions. After a few years’ foray to Toronto, she moved to Knoxville in 2021 to put down roots. The search for community and liturgy led her to Old North Abbey, an ACNA church where she served as volunteer worship leader and choir director, building a tight knit community with every Advent and Holy Week choir. The pain and beauty of a personal reckoning and coming out of the closet in 2024 led her to the refuge of St. James Episcopal choir under the direction of Ashley Burrell. Now after experiencing the life-giving community of a truly affirming church, she is excited to serve Powell Presbyterian as the Music Director to nurture a musical community marked by enthusiasm, excellence, and warmth. In her free time, Kristiana enjoys directing musical theater at her daughter’s homeschool co-op, singing with the Appalachian Equality Chorus, reading and co-writing with her girlfriend, and teaching her private studio of over twenty music students.