Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Parish, Schenectady, NY
ORGAN DEDICATION CONCERT
Sunday, June 2, 2024, 3PM – The Chenaults performing.
Custom Allen Three-Manual hybrid 85 stops. Pipe organ by COSS Organs, Delmar, NY
St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish
1803 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12309
518-346-6137
For more information about this concert, contact Brad Day of Allen Organ Studios Delmar NY at 518-439-0500 or Email braddayny@gmail.com
“No one can contest the spectacular facility, musicianship, and ensemble that these two offer in every musical style represented. Amazing artistry and technique, creative and diverse programming, and an accurate sense of what the public – from casual listeners to highly trained church musicians — will enjoy and appreciate.”– will enjoy and appreciate.” (The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians)
Exclusively performing works written for four hands-four feet-one pipe organ console, duo organists Elizabeth and Raymond Chenault have commissioned, premiered, and recorded over seventy organ duets. For their renowned artistry they have indisputably earned “The World’s Premiere Duo-Organ Team” title given by the Atlanta Journal & Constitution. The Chenault’s duet career began in 1979 when Arthur Wills of England’s Ely Cathedral composed “Toccata for Two” for them. The Chenaults subsequently commissioned duets from over 25 U.S. and European composers and have themselves arranged several pieces for organ duet. The Chenault duo’s most recent duet premiere was “Cantabile à Deux” by Rachel Laurin at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta.
The duo has been featured at numerous conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Association of Anglican Musicians, the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival, the Atlanta Summer Organ Festival, and at venues such as the Washington National Cathedral, St. Paul’s Cathedral (London), York Minster Cathedral (England), Kauffman Center (Kansas City), and the Mormon Tabernacle, among hundreds of others. They have been heard on the radio shows Pipedreams and Performance Today. Their four organ duet recordings are on the Gothic label. The duo’s fifth CD, recorded at the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, GA, was released in 2021. Several volumes of The Chenault Organ Duet Library Collection have been published by Warner Brothers Publications and are also available for purchase through the Chenaults’ website (www.chenaultduo.com). MorningStar Publishers released The Chenault Organ Duet Series in 2015.
Ray and Beth, natives of Virginia, received their Bachelor of Music degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University. Ray received his Master of Music degree in organ performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he and Beth studied organ with Wayne Fisher. Ray became a Fellow in Church Music at Washington Cathedral studying with Dr. Paul Callaway. Other teachers include Lawrence Robinson, Harold Abmyer, John Fenstermaker, and Arthur Poister.
The American Guild of Organists has named the Chenaults their Distinguished Artists for 2024 and will feature them at a performance and gala benefit reception at The Cathedral of St. Philip in Atlanta on April 26, 2024.
The Chenaults are represented in North America exclusively by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists, LLC.