NYC Chapter of the American Guild of Organists

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Chapter Board & Organization 2010–2012

The Executive Board is comprised of the seven officers, who hold two-year terms, and the twelve board members, who hold four-year terms. Officers and board members are elected during biennial elections in the late spring of even-numbered years. Committees are constituted for the planning of chapter events and the direction of special activities, including: Education & Program, Newsletter, Nominations, Placement, Professional Concerns, Regional Competition for Young Organists, and the Web site. Chapter members interested in helping with the work of these committees are encouraged to contact the Dean.


Keith S. Tóth, Dean

Keith S. Tóth, a native of Pittsburgh, Penn., received degrees in harpsichord, organ, and musicology from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. He subsequently studied and coached in Europe and the United States with Marie-Claire Alain, Gerre Hancock, Marie-Louise Langlais, Gustav Leonhardt, and Harald Vogel among others. Since September 1993, Tóth has held the distinguished position of Minister of Music and Organist at The Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City where he oversees the church’s professional choral program and is organist of the acclaimed Guilbault-Thérien and Coignet-Casavant Frères organs. From 1992 to 1994, Keith Tóth was Dean of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, a post that he was reelected to in May 2010. Tóth has recorded for B&V Recordings, Ethereal Recordings and New World Records. His recording “Paris on Park Avenue,” which was recorded on the Cavaillé-Coll inspired Guilbault-Thérien organ in the Chapel of the Reformed Faith of The Brick Church, won the “Golden Ear Award” from "The Absolute Sound Magazine–The High End Journal of Audio and Music" for Best Recordings of 1999.


David Enlow, Sub-Dean

David Enlow is Organist and Choir Master of the Church of the Resurrection, 74th Street, where he directs a professional choir. He is a member of the organ faculty of The Juilliard School and the founding director of Cappella New York, a semi-professional choral society. Mr. Enlow holds both an undergraduate and a Master's degree from The Juilliard School where he studied with John Weaver and Paul Jacobs. He also studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and with John Tuttle in Toronto. He is a Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, and an Associate of the Royal Canadian College of Organists. David Enlow has won several national performance competition first prizes including those of the Arthur Poister Competition and the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival USA. His choir at the Church of the Resurrection performs over fifty mass settings each season, often with orchestra. David Enlow is represented by Phillip Truckenbrod Concert Artists.


Christopher Jennings Registrar

Christopher Barrett Jennings serves as Associate Organist-Choirmaster and Music Associate for Children & Youth at St. James’ Church, New York City. Mr. Jennings holds the Master of Music Degree from Yale University School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music. At Yale, he studied organ literature with Martin Jean and improvisation with William Porter. He was named the Robert Baker Scholar and the Frank Bozyan Scholar, and was awarded the Richard Paul DeLong Prize in Church Music. He holds the Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University, where he studied with Marilyn Keiser. While a student at IU, he received the Dean’s Award and won first prize in several national organ competitions. Previous posts include Organist & Choirmaster, St. James’s Church, West Hartford, Conn., and Assistant Organist, Trinity Church on-the-Green, New Haven, Conn., and Director of Music & Arts at North Christian Church, Columbus, Ind. Mr. Jennings appears frequently as an organ recitalist, both in solo concerts and in duo concerts, with his spouse, Brian Harlow. He has appeared on the television program Jeopardy as a ‘clue’, playing the famed E.M. Skinner organ at Yale’s Woolsey Hall.


Mary Wannamaker Huff Secretary

Mary Wannamaker Huff is the Associate Director of Music at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and Director of Children's Choirs at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City. At Madison Avenue Presbyterian, she plays the organ on Sunday mornings, accompanies and assists in conducting the semi-professional Church Choir and the 50-voice Saint Andrew Chorale, and directs three Children's Choirs. At St. Ignatius Loyola, she administers and conducts four graded choirs for 100 children in grades one through twelve. Ms. Huff graduated cum laude from Furman University with a BMus degree in organ performance. She continued her musical studies at the Yale University Institute of Sacred Music, where she earned an MMus degree in May 2001. Her teachers have included Charles Tompkins, Thomas Murray, and Martin Jean. Mary is married to Canadian organist, Andrew Henderson, and they have two young boys.


Dr. F. Anthony Thurman Treasurer

F. Anthony Thurman is Director of Development and Communications at AGO National Headquarters in New York City, a position he has held since 1998. He holds bachelor and master of music degrees in organ performance from the University of Louisville, and a doctor of musical arts degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Dr. Thurman currently serves as music director at The Presbyterian Church, Irvington-on-Hudson, N.Y. Before joining the National Headquarters staff, Dr. Thurman served as associate director of community outreach and the orchestral performance program at the Manhattan School of Music and was actively involved in the development department there. He is treasurer for the New York City AGO Chapter and holds memberships in the Association of Fundraising Professionals and the American Society of Association Executives.


Steven E. Lawson, Auditor

Steven E. Lawson is the Assisting Organist at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, a position he has held since 1997. Prior to this appointment, he was for ten years the Director of Music at St. Luke Lutheran Church in the Theatre District. His undergraduate study in organ was at Oklahoma City University, followed by graduate school at Indiana University. At Indiana he accompanied the University Singers, working with conductors Robert Shaw and Margaret Hillis, and minored in carillon. His teachers include Antone Godding and Wilma Jensen, organ, and Linda Walker, carillon. He is active in the New York City Chapter, having served variously as Registrar, Webmaster (chapter, 2007 Region II Convention and two POE web sites), and has been editor of the Concert Calendar for several years. When not freelancing as an organist or web site designer, he compiles information for "The New York City Organ Project."


Renée Anne Louprette Auditor

Renée Anne Louprette was appointed Organist and Associate Director of Music and the Arts at Trinity Wall Street in 2011, following a six year tenure as Associate Director of Music at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. She is also Adjunct Professor of Organ at the John J. Cali School of Music, Montclair State University in New Jersey. Ms. Louprette maintains an active career as concert organist and freelance accompanist and has collaborated with many of New York’s premier ensembles including the Clarion Music Society, the Dessoff Choirs and NY Choral Society. She is the Chair of the International Performer of the Year Committee of the New York City Chapter AGO and previously served as Dean of the Greater Hartford, Conn. Chapter AGO. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree summa cum laude in piano performance and a Graduate Professional Diploma in organ performance from the Hartt School of Music, University of Hartford. She was awarded a Premier Prix, mention très bien from the Conservatoire National de Région de Toulouse, France, and a Diplôme Supérieur in organ performance from the Centre d'Etudes Supérieures de Musique et de Danse de Toulouse.

Class of 2012


Dr. Neal Campbell

Neal Campbell has since 2006 been the Director of Music and Organist of Saint Luke’s Parish in Darien, Conn., where he leads a multi-choir program for children and adults. He holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Frederick Swann, John Walker, James Litton, and McNeil Robinson, and where he earned the DMA in 1996. He has served the AGO in leadership positions in the Philadelphia and Richmond Chapters, and is the newsletter editor for the NYC Chapter. From 2000-2006 he was Region III Councillor on the AGO National Council. He has held positions in churches and synagogues in Washington, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, and was for ten years on the faculty of the University of Richmond.


John Edward Cantrell

John Edward Cantrell, organist and choirmaster of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Manhattan, is known to his colleagues as a "musician's musician." As an organist, pianist, and multi-instrumentalist, Mr. Cantrell has toured the United States, Ireland, England, and Western Europe, performing not only as a solo concert artist, but also as an ensemble accompanist, and with jazz and pop groups that entertained audiences of 3,000 people per show. As a champion of 20th century music, Mr. Cantrell, along with an ensemble created for the sole purpose of performing contemporary works, was invited to participate in the "Meer den Worten" festival in Holland. While there, they premiered new works and collaborated with other musicians and writers from around the world. As a composer, Mr. Cantrell has works commissioned by the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts, Christ Church Cathedral of Louisville, and film and multimedia projects, funded by the NEA, specializing in Arts Education for Children. Mr. Cantrell holds a Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from Yale University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Louisville. His teachers have included noted performers and scholars Thomas Murray, Melvin Dickinson, and Martin Jean. Mr. Cantrell has also received private coaching sessions with artists Susan Landale, Charles Krigbaum, and Ludger Lohman.


Christopher Creaghan

Christopher Creaghan is active in the New York City region as a recitalist, accompanist, and church musician. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in organ performance from the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with McNeil Robinson. He is Organist and Choir Director for Temple Israel of New Rochelle. Previous positions include Associate Organist for The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola and Music Director and Organist for St. Joseph’s Church in Greenwich Village. An active member of the American Guild of Organists for many years, he is a past Dean of the New York City Chapter. He is married to composer and mezzo-soprano Nancy Wertsch.


Sebastian M. Glück

Sebastian M. Glück is Artistic and Tonal Director of Glück Pipe Organs. While studying organ with Jon Gillock, he earned an AB in Architecture and MS in Historic Preservation from Columbia University and the Colleague's Certificate of the American Institute of Organbuilders. He has served the OHS as National Councilor for Research and Publications, as well as on their Historic Organs Citation Committee and Guidelines for Restoration and Conservation Committee. Mr. Glück is a member of the International Society of Organbuilders and the Professional Circle of the New York Landmarks Conservancy. In 2007 he was appointed Chair of the AGO Region II Convention. A respected lecturer and writer on organbuilding and design, Mr. Glück is writing a monograph on the life and work of Hilborne and Frank Roosevelt. His scholarly articles have been published in The American Organist, The Diapason, The Tracker, ISO Journal, and the Journal of American Organbuilding, for which he has served as Editor.


Dr. John T. King

John T. King currently serves as full-time Minster of Music at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, Scarsdale, N.Y., where he administers and conducts the multiple choir program. Dr. King has given organ concerts throughout the United States and Europe and has performed and guest conducted for several American Guild of Organists workshops and choral festivals. In 1994, he founded the New Choral Society of Westchester and serves as Artistic Director and Conductor. During his tenure, he has been responsible for two choral commissions from Stephen Paulus, Mass for Chorus and Orchestra and You Shall Love for chorus and organ, having conducted their world premieres. As a conductor, he has recorded Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Cantata No. 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, Haydn’s Utrecht Te Deum, Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass, Brahms’ Requiem, and the world premiere recording of Stephen Paulus’ Mass. Dr. King holds a Bachelor of Music degree from University of Louisville, a Master of Music degree from Yale University and Doctor of Musical Arts from Manhattan School of Music. His principal teachers were Melvin Dickinson, Thomas Murray, Alec Wyton and John Walker. He has been the recipient of a number of prizes in organ performance, and serves as an adjunct at Concordia College, Bronxville, where he teaches music history and conducting.


Daniel Kirk-Foster

Daniel Kirk-Foster has since 1994 served as the Director of Music and Organist at St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church (known as "The Cathedral of the Bronx"). He is also Associate Organist of Brick Presbyterian Church and has served in several other parishes including Notre Dame, St. Paul's Chapel (Columbia University Catholic Mass) and Fordham University Chapel. Daniel holds degrees from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Manhattan School of Music, and performs as an organist and pianist in venues which have included Carnegie's Weill Hall (Artist International winner), CAMI Hall, Steinway Hall and Princeton University Chapel. He was the Executive Assistant of the NYC AGO 1996 Centennial Convention Steering Committee, and served on the NYC AGO Board’s Program Committee from 1996–1998. He currently serves as the Chapter's Newsletter Advertising manager.

Class of 2014


Christopher Babcock

Christopher Babcock was first taught the organ by Alistair Cassels-Brown, then at Grace Church, Utica, N.Y. After receiving a B.Mus. degree from Boston University, he studied with Peter Hurford at St. Alban's and at Trinity College of Music in London, earning his LTCL. From 1982-87 he was Associate Organist at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in New York City and in 1988 Interim Director there. In 1989 he was invited to launch a distinguished music program at the Church of the Holy Family, the United Nations Parish. He returned to St. Mary's in 1996 as Music Director. He moved to Cape Cod in 2002 where he is Music Director at St. David's Episcopal Church and, in summer, Organist at St. Andrew's by the Sea in Hyannis Port. Active in the American Guild of Organists in many capacities, Christopher was Sub-Dean of the New York City Chapter when the International Performer of the Year Award was created and he chaired the National Centennial Convention in 1996. Recently Christopher was Dean of the Cape Cod & Islands Chapter and currently serves on National's Development Committee. Maintaining residences in New York City and Cape Cod, Christopher is a dual member of the New York City and Cape Cod & Islands chapters.


Louise Basbas

Louise Basbas is director of music and the organist at Corpus Christi Church where she conducts the Choir of Corpus Christi Church, an ensemble of professional singers which specializes in historically informed performance. Her choice of repertory reflects an adventurous interest in seldom-heard and unusual compositions – first performances of newly edited renaissance and baroque music, twentieth-century compositions, and commissioned works. In addition to singing at the 11:15 a.m. liturgy each Sunday and at all holydays throughout the year, the Choir of Corpus Christi Church appears annually as the resident performing ensemble of Music Before 1800 concert series, an organization founded by Louise Basbas in 1975. Other Music Before 1800 performances in this highly regarded early music organization include up-and-coming performers, debut events and established soloists and groups from both the United States and abroad. In addition to serving as executive director of Music Before 1800, Ms. Basbas is a board member of Chamber Music America, the Friends of Liturgical Music at Corpus Christi, GEMS-NY, the Musicians Foundation, the New York Musicians Club (The Bohemians) and is president of the Saint Wilfrid Club.


Bernadette Hoke

Bernadette Hoke is the Music Director and Organist of the First Reformed Episcopal church in New York City where she directs a professional choir and performs on the concert series, “Music at First Church.” She is the accompanist for the Collegiate Singers and the pianist, organist and assistant conductor of the Dalton alumni chorus. Ms. Hoke earned a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and is a Colleague of the American Guild of Organists. She has studied organ with Walter Hilse and Paul Liljestrand and was on the steering committee for the 2007 Regional Convention. She performs regularly as part of the Birk and Hoke Duo (with husband, Eric Birk) playing repertoire for four-hand piano, organ and piano, and with numerous chamber ensembles and singers. Ms. Hoke also teaches piano and coaches chamber music at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City.


James Kennerley

James Kennerley has been Organist and Music Director at the Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Times Square, since 2008. In addition to directing the church’s professional choir, he is establishing a concert series as part of the church’s outreach program. A native of the United Kingdom, Mr. Kennerley was a chorister of Chelmsford Cathedral. He was educated at Harrow School and Cambridge University, where he was Organ Scholar at Jesus College. He then was appointed Organ Scholar of Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London, where he worked daily with the choir of men and boys under the direction of Malcolm Archer. As an organist, Mr. Kennerley has performed at many major venues in Europe and the US, both as a soloist and accompanist, and has been a prizewinner at several competitions. Mr. Kennerley has studied organ with David Sanger, Thomas Trotter and McNeil Robinson, and holds the Fellow of the Royal College of Organists diploma. As a singer, Mr. Kennerley has performed with many groups, including New York’s Clarion Music Society, Rebel and Amor Artis, and with many major ensembles in the UK. He has studied voice with David Lowe and Braeden Harris.


Dr. Matthew Lewis

Matthew Lewis is Organist and Director of Music at Church of the Incarnation in New York City, Organist-choirmaster at Temple Israel in Lawrence, N.Y., and is Artistic Director and Conductor of St. George’s Choral Society. He is on the organ faculty of the Juilliard School Pre-College division, and is Adjunct Assistant Professor of Organ at Westminster Choir College. Matthew Lewis earned the doctor of musical arts degree at Juilliard, and was the recipient of a Fulbright Grant and the Annette Kade Fellowship from the Council of International Education for study in Paris. His teachers include Samuel Hsu, Jon Gillock, Robert Page, and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé.


Deanna Muro

Deanna Muro is Director of Music and Organist at St. Joseph's Church, Kings Park, N.Y., where she directs the Chamber, Teen and Children’s Choirs, and two handbell choirs in a parish of more than 5000 families. She is also a staff organist at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington, N.Y. Ms. Muro has served two terms as Dean of the Suffolk Chapter of the AGO and has also co-chaired the annual Suffolk AGO Children’s Choir Festival for 18 years. She was a member of the Steering Committee for the 1997 Region II convention hosted by the Suffolk Chapter and has held the offices of Sub-Dean, Education Coordinator, and Grant Writing Chair. She received the Service Playing and Colleague certificates and has presented workshops and recitals at AGO events. Ms. Muro received a Bachelor's Degree in Music in organ and piano from Dickinson State University and a Master of Music Degree in organ performance from Kansas State University. Her organ studies have been with Elwood Brown, Mary Ellen Sutton and Walter Hilse.