About
Andrew Elliot Henderson was appointed Director of Music & Organist at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church (MAPC), New York City, in July 2005. He succeeded his former teacher, John Weaver, following his distinguished 35-year tenure at MAPC. At the church he directs an extensive liturgical music program with a number of choirs, a choral society (the Saint Andrew Chorale), and the highly regarded "Music on Madison" concert series. He also serves as the Assistant Organist of Congregation Emanu-El in New York City – the largest Jewish house of worship in the world, as the organ instructor at Teacher's College, Columbia University, and as an adjunct assistant professor of organ at Westminster Choir College, where he teaches graduate courses in organ literature.
Dr. Henderson, a native of Thorold, Ontario, began studies in organ at the age of 11. Following high school and a year of study at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario, he went on to complete his undergraduate degree in music at Cambridge University in England, where he served as Organ Scholar at Clare College, Cambridge. With Clare College Choir he participated in numerous BBC broadcasts, recordings and tours throughout Europe and North America. Henderson then completed a master's degree in organ performance at Yale University on a full scholarship from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. During his time at Yale, he was Marquand Chapel Organist at the Yale Divinity School, and was awarded prizes for excellence in organ performance and academic studies.
Coming to New York City in 2001 to pursue his doctoral studies at the Juilliard School, Andrew became the Assistant Organist at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, New York, where for four years he was actively involved in their renowned liturgical and concert programs and worked closely with Kent Tritle, Director of Music Ministries. In August 2002 Andrew was a finalist in the international organ competition Grand Prix de Chartres held in Chartres Cathedral, France, and in 2003 he won first prize in the biennial National Organ Playing Competition sponsored by the Royal Canadian College of Organists. The recipient of a C.V. Starr Foundation fellowship, upon graduation from The Juilliard School he received the Richard F. French prize for the best doctoral document, "The Early Organ Works of Charles Tournemire."
As well as performing recitals in St. Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, London, and in most major venues in New York City and at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Andrew was a featured performer at the Royal Canadian College of Organists' National Convention in Winnipeg in 2004. Recent performances include solo recitals in New Jersey, Georgia, South Carolina, Nebraska, Ontario, at the historic Round Lake Auditorium in Upstate New York and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. His performances have been featured on the nationally-syndicated radio programs Pipedreams and With Heart and Voice. His first solo CD, Andrew Henderson at St. John's, Elora, was recorded and released in 2010.
In the New York City area Andrew is in demand for his collaborative organ and continuo playing, having appeared with the New York Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Musica Sacra Orchestra & Chorus, The Collegiate Chorale, and The New Amsterdam Singers. Andrew has also been featured in performances with Grammy award-winning composer Paul Halley and organist Renée Anne Louprette, in a program entitled "Triptych" – featuring music written by Halley for the unusual but effective combination of organ, piano and harpsichord. A Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, his teachers have included John Tuttle, Barrie Cabena, David Sanger, Thomas Murray and John Weaver. Andrew is married to organist Mary Wannamaker Huff, who is the Associate Director of Music at Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church and Director of the Children's Choirs at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola. Andrew and Mary have two young boys, Elliot and Christian.