Keith Getty

The Gettys melodies have strong similarity to Irish folk songs, Keith Getty has said 'Most of our best hymns are based on folk melodies' and We write melodies that borrow their structure more from classic music or traditional folk music that can be sung apace , in response to an interview observation "So why do they sound so much like something that’s always been around. You hear it and you think 'I heard that before I don’t know where, but I heard that'?

"There’s two reasons: one could be the songs are stolen, but as far as I know they’re not stolen! But I think that really boils down to melody, especially folk melody style. There are influences of folk music...

Getty was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for his services to music and modern hymn writing.

In addition to his work with his wife as Keith & Kristyn Getty, Getty has also orchestrated or produced music for more than 200 projects—recordings, concerts, theatre, television, and film. Diverse credits include orchestrations for Michael W. Smith's 2004 Healing Rain album, McDonald's television commercials, and Silvascreen label movie soundtrack recordings Music from the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Once upon a Time: The Essential Ennio Morricone. He has orchestrated for Sir Cliff Richard and other gospel artists including Natalie Grant and Watermark. He wrote and produced the music for the 1998 C. S. Lewis International Centenary Celebrations.

In 2012, Getty's hymn "In Christ Alone" was involved in a controversy with the Presbyterian Church (USA) hymnal committee in the creation of their new hymnal "Glory to God". The committee requested permission from Getty and Stuart Townend to use an alternative lyric to the phrase "Till on that cross as Jesus died/the wrath of God was satisfied", changing "wrath of God was satisfied" to "the love of God was magnified."

Getty holds an honorary doctorate from Lancaster Bible College, awarded to him in 2011. In 1994, Getty founded the New Irish Arts, which works in partnership with the church to present Christianity through the arts. He is also the honorary President of the organization.

Getty and Townend rejected this lyric change, and the hymnal committee barred the hymn from the book. Mary Louise Bringle, committee chair, defended their decision saying: "The song has been removed from our contents list, with deep regret over losing its otherwise poignant and powerful witness." The decision to change the text arose when members of the committee found the alternate text in the Celebrating Grace Hymnal published in 2010. They assumed the songwriters had agreed to this change, but upon request of the hymn, found that the text used in the Celebrating Grace Hymnal had not been approved by the writers. Capitol CMG Publishing, managers of the song, said it is working with the Celebrating Grace Hymnal's publisher to fix the problem.

In 2009, Keith & Kristyn traveled to Ecuador with Compassion International. While there, they visited Compassion International project sites, and were able to meet their sponsored child.

Getty met Kristyn Lennox in 2002 after being introduced by his friend, John Lennox, world-renowned mathematician, Christian apologist, and Kristyn’s uncle. Kristyn was attending a nearby university and asked Getty for some musical advice. After dating for two years, the couple married on 16 June 2004. In 2011, the Gettys welcomed their first child Eliza Joy. In 2013, they welcomed their second daughter, Charlotte Juliana. In 2015, their third child, Grace Alexandra was born. In 2018, their fourth daughter, Tahlia Lennox, was born.

In 2001, Getty and Stuart Townend wrote the song "In Christ Alone" with the purpose of creating a modern hymn that would explain the life of Christ. They released it on the Kingsway album New Irish Hymns, featuring vocalists Máire Brennan, Margaret Becker, and Joanne Hogg. The song gained popularity, and by 2005 it was named by a BBC Songs of Praise survey as the 9th best loved hymn of all time, and in their 2010 survey was named 2nd best hymn of all time. It hit number one on the United Kingdom CCLI charts by 2006, and in January 2009, it was still number one in the UK, number two in Australia, number seven in Canada, and number 15 in the United States. The British Hymn Society nominated "In Christ Alone" as one of the top 5 hymns of all time, and BBC One's "Songs of Praise" nominated "In Christ Alone" as a top 10 hymn in 2012.

Getty began making music at age 11, learning to play the classical guitar; at 12 years old he began playing the flute. During school, Getty was influenced by classical music, Irish music, and church music of all kinds. As a young adult, he studied Music at St Chad's College, Durham University, graduating with his Bachelor of Arts in 1995. As a student, Getty completed special conducting opportunities at the Canford Summer School of Music and the Tanglewood Music Center in Massachusetts. Getty participated in a summer master class under Irish flautist Sir James Galway.

Julian Keith Getty OBE (born 16 December 1974) is a Northern Irish Christian singer and songwriter, best known for writing the modern hymn "In Christ Alone" in 2001 with veteran English songwriter and worship leader Stuart Townend. Getty and his wife also release music under the musical duo Keith & Kristyn Getty, which have been nominated for many Dove Awards, and has albums that have charted on multiple Billboard charts.