Dexter Kennedy
Concert Organist
Winner of the Grand Prix de Chartres d'Interprétation, 2014
"One of the greatest organists of our times"
- Iceland Monitor
"Prestigious technique and grand style musicality"
- The American Organist
"The finest in the future of American Organ Performance"
- Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network
As the winner of the Grand Prix d’Interprétation at the 24th Concours International d’Orgue de Chartres, Dexter Kennedy has established himself internationally as “one of the greatest organists of our times” (Iceland Monitor). Praised for his “prodigious technique and grand style musicality” in The American Organist, his concert programs present performances that are fiery and historically informed, exciting both music connoisseurs as well as people who have never experienced the organ in concert setting. In addition to concertizing, Dexter Kennedy currently serves on the music faculty of the College of Wooster as Instructor of Organ and Harpsichord. During the Fall 2017 semester, Kennedy served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Organ at Oberlin College Conservatory.
Mr. Kennedy is an active recitalist throughout both Europe and North America, having performed in great cathedrals, churches, and concert halls including: Notre-Dame de Paris; Berliner Dom; St. Bavokerk, Haarlem; Slovak Philharmonic Hall, Bratislava; Chartres Cathedral; Grossmünster, Zürich; Chichester Cathedral; Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik; Basilica of St. Nazaire, Carcassone; St. George’s, Hannover Square, London; Auditorio Manuel de Falla, Granada; San Luigi Dei Francesi, Rome; St. Willibrordus Basilika, Echternach, Luxembourg; and Bergen Cathedral. His performances have been heard at the St. Albans International Organ Festival, the 51st Bratislava Music Festival, the Bergen International Organ Festival, the Lordon Handel Festival, the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians, and two regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists. In 2017 he was the lone American to be invited to perform at the Catédral Primada of Bogotá, Colombia, for the Bach en Bogotá Festival, where he performed for an audience of over 2,000 people as part of the first organized performances of Bach’s complete organ works in the country’s history. Also in demand as an orchestral player, Kennedy frequently performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In December 2017 he performed and recorded with the orchestra Strauss’s Eine Alpensinfonie for future CD release under the baton of music director Andris Nelsons, and during the 2018-2019 season he performed with the ensemble at Carnegie Hall. His playing has been broadcast nationally on the American Public Media’s Pipedreams program. Recent and upcoming concert highlights include; Laon Cathedral; the Festival d’orgue de Roquevaire; Wellesley College; Orquesta Filharmonica de Cali; the Montreal Bach Festival, Arizona State University; as well as recitals for the Kansas City, Grand Rapids, and Charleston Chapters of the American Guild of Organists.
As a church musician, Kennedy currently serves as the Assistant Organist of Christ Church Grosse Pointe (Michigan) where he serves as the principal organist for all choral services and concerts and directs the training of the novice boy and girl choristers. He traveled with the Christ Church Choirs to England and Wales in the summer of 2014, Spain in 2016, to the UK 2017 for choral residencies at Salisbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, and again in 2018 at Durham and Canterbury Cathedrals. Additional choir tours as a freelance accompanist have taken Kennedy to the organ benches of St. Peter’s Basilica; La Sagrada Familia; Stephansdom, Vienna; St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin; and St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. Kennedy’s previously held positions include Director of Music and Organist for Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University, Organ Scholar at St. Paul’s on the Green Episcopal Church, Norwalk, CT, and Organist for Marquand Chapel, Yale Divinity School.
Dexter Kennedy holds the Artist Diploma from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where he was a pupil of James David Christie. He holds a Master of Music Degree from the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music, where he was a recipient of the Robert Baker Award, as well as the Mary Baker Prize for Excellence in Organ Accompaniment. Kennedy has also studied under Olivier Latry, Martin Jean, Jeffrey Brillhart (improvisation), Arthur Haas and Webb Wiggins (harpsichord), and has attended several international organ festivals where he has coached with many distinguished European artists. In his spare time, he enjoys golfing and rooting for the professional sports teams in his native Detroit. More information about Kennedy and his schedule can be found at his website, www.dexterkennedy.com.
Events
Solo Organ Recital
October 4, 2019, 7:00 PM
Christ Church Easton
Easton, Maryland
Oktoberfest: Music of Germany
October 28, 2019, 3:00 PM
Christ Church Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Christ Church Schola and Dexter Kennedy, organist
Duruflé Requiem
November 3, 2019, 3:00 PM
Christ Church Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Rie Bloomfield Organ Series
November 12, 2019, 7:30 PM
Wiedemann Hall, Wichita State University
Wichita, Kansas
Montreal Bach Festival
November 17, 2019, 3:30 PM
Oratoire St. Joseph
Montreal, Canada
Performances of Handel's Messiah
with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
December 13, 2019, 8:00 PM
Orchestra Hall
Detroit, Michigan
December 14, 2019, 8:00 PM
Orchestra Hall
Detroit, Michigan
Organ Recital and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols
December 22, 2019, 4:00 PM
Christ Church Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Solo Organ Recital
January 19, 2019, 4:00 PM
Christ Episcopal Church
Bradenton, Florida
Solo Organ Recital
February 8, 2020, 2:00 PM
Anabel Taylor Chapel, Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
Solo Organ Recital
March 1, 2020, 2:30 PM
Arizona State University School of Music Organ Hall
Tempe, Arizona
Haydn: Stabat Mater
April 5, 2020, 3:00 PM
Christ Church Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Postponed Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Solo Recital
May 3, 2020, 4:00 PM
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Canton, Ohio
Postponed Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Tour of Germany with the Choirs of Christ Church
Grosse Pointe
July 26 - August 3, 2020
Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival
June 14, 2020, 3:00 PM
Christ Church Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Teaching Faculty for Ann Arbor AGO Pipe Organ Encounter (Advanced)
June 28, 2020 - July 3, 2020
Solo Recital
September 11, 2020, 7:00 PM
St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church
Richmond, Virginia
Performance of the Duruflé Requiem
November 1, 2020, 4:00 PM
Christ Church Grosse Pointe
Grosse Pointe, Michigan
All Bach Recital
March 14, 2021, 3:00 PM
Peace Memorial Presbyterian Church
Clearwater, Florida