Jeffrey Dronenburg began his musical training at the age of seven years on the piano. He began accompanying school choirs in 8th grade and continued through his senior year in High School playing for concert and performance choral groups.
All of his musical training has been through private instruction with focused training in church music, specializing in congregational hymn and choral accompaniment. He began organ lessons at age fourteen. His principal piano and organ teacher for advanced study was David Elder, who was the organist at First Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado during 1979-1981, and Jeff was able to utilize their organ for lessons and practice. First Baptist Church of Denver is the home of Colorado’s largest pipe organ, an 8,000 pipe, 126 rank Grand Aeolian Skinner Organ (Opus 1047-A). He also studied on pipe organs installed in Calvary Baptist Church and Holy Ghost Catholic Church in downtown Denver, Colorado, as well as various models of Allen and Rodgers electronic organs.
After joining the Denver Chapter of the American Guild of Organists in 1977, Jeff obtained his first position as a church organist at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church at the age of 15 years in 1978. He held positions at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Bonnie Brae Baptist Church, and played frequently at his home church, Grace United Methodist Church, all in Denver, Colorado before joining the US Navy in 1982.
During his 20-year career in the US Navy, Jeff served as ship’s organist/pianist aboard USS Independence (CV-62), USS Tarawa (LHA-1), and USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63). In these shipboard positions, he worked closely with the ships’ chaplains and assisted in leading music during weekly services. He also served as pianist during his shore duty tours for Calvary Baptist Church in Beeville, Texas; Bayview Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Chula Vista, California; and Cornerstone Presbyterian Church in California, Maryland before coming to Grace and Peace Presbyterian in 2006.
Jeff was introduced to the doctrines of the Reformed Faith articulated by the Westminster Confession of Faith while serving on the USS Tarawa. At Bayview OPC in Chula Vista, CA., he became convinced that the OPC most closely espoused the principals of Christianity from Scripture contained in the Old and New Testaments of any denominational standards that he had been exposed to throughout his life. Jeff was ordained as a Deacon at Bayview OPC in 1994.
After moving to Maryland, Jeff retired from the Navy in 2002 at the rank of Chief Petty Officer. Jeff was elected, ordained and installed as a Ruling Elder at Grace and Peace in August 2013. Jeff and his wife Diane have been married since April 1983, have four married children and five grandchildren.