Harold Chaney, New York City organist, died on November 20, 2014. He was 84. The cause was complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. A native of California, he pursed dual careers as organist and harpsichordist. He earned a DMA from the University of Southern California, and was subsequently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for two years at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, where he studied under Heinz Wunderlich. After returning home, he was appointed to the University of Oregon music faculty, a position he held until moving to New York City, where he resided for over 50 years.
In New York City he was organist-choirmaster at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church and also taught at Staten Island College, City University of New York. At St. Ignatius Church, he established a liturgical music tradition known internationally for its excellence. He performed numerous times with the New York Philharmonic under, among others, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christoph Eschenbach, and Mstislav Rostropovich. He appeared in recitals at both regional and national conventions of the American Guild of Organists, and as recitalist in Europe, the Far East, and throughout the United States.
Chaney recorded for Koch International, New World Records, Music and Art, CRI, and Fleur de Lis. His most notable CDs are Choral Music of Morton Feldman and Stefan Wolpe, recorded with the St. Ignatius choir in 2000; and French Connection: Organ Music of Widor, Messiaen, Vierne, and Duruflé, recorded on the organ at Trinity Cathedral, Trenton, New Jersey, in 2002.
—Bynum Petty
