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 a leading organist of his generation. Praised for his “prodigious technique and grand style musicality” in The American Organist, his concert programs present performances that are fiery, spontaneous, 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.
Dexter Kennedy is an active recitalist throughout both Europe and North America, having performed at several celebrated venues including Washington National Cathedral ; St. Thomas Church 5th Avenue, New York City ; Old West Church, Boston ; The Cathedral of St. Joseph, Columbus ; Myers Park Methodist Church, Charlotte ; The Community Church of Vero Beach, Florida ; the University of Calgary ; Berlin Cathedral ; Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavik ; the Basilica of St. Nazaire, Carcassonne, France ; Narbonne Cathedral ; Santa Rita da Cascia, Turin, Italy ; St. Willibrordus Basilika, Echternach, Luxembourg ; Auditorio Manuel de Falla, Granada ; Hospital de los Venerables, Seville ; Chichester Cathedral ; St. Andreas Kyrka, Malmö, Sweden ; and Slovak Philharmonic Hall, Bratislava. His performances have been heard recently at two regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, the Aosta Valley Organ Festival, the Calgary Organ Festival, and the 51st Bratislava Music Festival.
A devoted 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 Choir of Men and Boys to England and Wales in the summer of 2014, performing in Exeter, Wells, Bristol, Brecon, St. David’s, and Bangor Cathedrals. Additional choir tours as a freelance accompanist have taken Kennedy to the organ benches of St. Peter’s Basilica, La Sagrada Familia, 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 is currently pursuing the prestigious Artist Diploma at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music under the tutelage 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 vigorously rooting for the professional sports teams in his native Detroit. More information about Kennedy and his schedule can be found at his website :