Ezequiel Menéndez
Professor of Practice and Distinguished Scholar in Residence in the Department of Music as a Visiting Professor of Music, Organ
Biography
Dr. Ezequiel Menéndez joined the faculty of the College of the Holy Cross in 2018 as Professor of Practice and Distinguished Artist in Residence in Organ. In addition to teaching the college organ scholars, Dr. Menéndez is the curator of the celebrated Taylor and Boody Opus 9 organ in the Saint Joseph Memorial Chapel, as well as the Director of the renowned Chapel Artist Concert Series. Dr. Menéndez loves teaching and mentoring his students, who are consistently recognized for their solid preparation and mature musicianship.
Dr. Menéndez served for 26 years as the Director of Music for the Archdiocese of Hartford, and the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford, Connecticut. During his tenure, he built a magnificent music program inclusive of multiple choirs, a resident orchestra (Soli Deo Gloria), and an active concert series. In addition, he co-founded Hartford Concerts for Charities and the Sacred Sounds Music Series.
In recognition of his charitable work, the Rotary Club International honored him with the Paul Harris Fellow award in 2018. In 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives recognized Dr. Menéndez as an immigrant who has contributed significantly to his community. In 2024, the Archdiocese of Hartford awarded him the Saint Joseph Medal as a recognition for his immense contribution to Sacred Music at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph and beyond.
Since 1994, Dr. Menéndez has been the Chapel Organist at the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Connecticut.
Ever the advocate of the pipe organ’s historical significance, Dr. Menéndez has acted as an organ consultant for countless churches. Thanks to his efforts, many churches in the State of Connecticut now own new or relocated pipe organs. It is worth noticing some of these installations including: Saint Thomas Chapel at the Pastoral Center, Bloomfield; Saint Peter Clavier, West Hartford; Sacred Heart Church, New Britain; Saint Francis Church, New Haven; Church of Saint Ann, Avon; the Avon Old Farms School, Avon.
A native of Argentina, he graduated from the Conservatorio Gilardo Gilardi in Argentina as Professor Superior de Organo. In 1992, he received his Master of Music degree from Yale University under the tutelage of Thomas Murray. Yale awarded him the highest prize given to an organist, the Charles Ives Scholarship, and the Julia Sherman Prize for Excellence in Organ Playing. Other awards include the E. Power Biggs Fellowship and the Vivian E. Smith Scholarship. In May 2006, he received a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Boston University. Among his teachers are distinguished names like Harold Vogel, Marie Clare Alain, Charles Krigbaum, Piet Kee, Rafael Ferreyra, Enrique Rimoldi, Adelma Gomez, Victor Urbanand Thomas Murray.
Dr. Menéndez remains an active recitalist and has concertized widely throughout Europe and the Americas, including performances for the national and regional conventions of the American Guild of Organists, The Organ Historical Society, and the National Convention of Cathedral Musicians. Dr. Menéndez has performed as a soloist with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Estable del Teatro Argentino, New Haven Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón, Orquesta de Cámara de la Municipalidad de La Plata, and the Hartt School Symphony Orchestra. He has been an adjudicator for several national and international competitions, including the American Guild of Organist Regional Competition, and the Kaliningrad International Organ Competition (Russia).
Dr. Menéndez is a former member of the Steering Committee of the Conference of Roman Catholic Cathedral Musicians, the Board of Directors of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, the Liturgy and Music Sub-Committee of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., as well as dean of the Hartford Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
Among his recordings are “French Music at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph” and “Ezequiel Menéndez, LIVE,” featuring Pre-Bach music recorded at College of the Holy Cross– both of which have been widely acclaimed. In 2009, the Boston Chapter of the American Guild of Organists chose Dr. Menéndez to perform Mendelsohn’s Organ Sonatas to mark the composer’s 200th birthday at Harvard University. He has recorded more than five hundred hours of music for streaming and televised Liturgies for the Archdiocese of Hartford. When not at the organ console, Dr. Menéndez enjoys playing “four-hands” piano music with his
wife, Mercedes, and when he’s not visiting their four kids and three grandkids, he enjoys sailing on their beloved boat, “Moondust.”