DEXTER KENNEDY

BIOGRAPHY

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.