{{short description|American musician|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{more citations needed|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox musical artist | honorific_prefix = | name = Ray Chew | honorific_suffix = | image = | image_upright = | image_size = | landscape = <!-- yes, if wide image, otherwise leave blank --> | alt = | caption = | birth_name = <!-- leave empty if the same "name" --> | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|9|7}}<ref name="bbcmusic">{{cite web |url=https://www.classical-music.com/features/artists/who-is-ray-chew-dancing-with-the-stars |title=Who is Ray Chew, the conductor for Dancing with the Stars? |work=Classical Music brought to you by BBC Music Magazine |first=Steve |last=Wright |date=2023-09-01 |accessdate=2024-06-23 }}</ref> | birth_place = | origin = Manhattan, New York City | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date first) --> | death_place = | genre = | occupation = Music Director and Pianist | instrument = | years_active = 1980–present | label = | associated_acts = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} or {{Official URL}} --> | module = | module2 = | module3 = }} '''Ray Chew''' (born 7 September 1958)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/ray-chew|publisher=The HistoryMakers|title=Ray Chew}}</ref> is an American musician who plays keyboards and is a contemporary and orchestral arranger. He has been the music director of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' since 2014.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

==Biography== Chew grew up in the Grant Houses in Morningside Heights, and moved to Teaneck, New Jersey, in 2000.<ref name="Ledger"/><ref name="beckerman">{{cite web |last=Beckerman |first=Jim |url=http://www.northjersey.com/news/intriguingpeople/The_pro_who_rules_amateur_night.html |title=The pro who rules amateur night |work=The Record |date=2009-06-28 |accessdate=2009-06-28 }}</ref> He was given a scholarship to study in the children's program at the Juilliard School on the Upper West Side at six years old, and later studied at Harlem School of the Arts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://internationalmusician.org/ray-chew/|title=Ray Chew &#124; International Musician|website=internationalmusician.org}}</ref> He also studied at Third Street Music School Settlement in the early 1970s for four years.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

Chew landed his first professional gig with Tony award winner Melba Moore. At 19, Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson chose him as their music director. He is credited as arranger and or pianist in recordings for artists including Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Roberta Flack, and Donny Hathaway.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ray Chew Personal Website |url=http://www.raychew.com/}}</ref>

Chew was a member of the Saturday Night Live Band from 1980 to 1983. During the 1990s and 2000s, he was music director for the syndicated television series ''Showtime at the Apollo'' and the bandleader on ''The Singing Bee''.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} He was the bandleader during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, and the Barack Obama Neighborhood Ball on the night after the first inauguration of Barack Obama in 2009.<ref name="Ledger">{{cite web |last=Lustig |first=Jay |url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2009/02/new_jersey_musician_kicks_off.html |title=New Jersey musician kicks off festival paying tribute to African-American culture |work=The Star-Ledger |date=2009-02-26 |accessdate=2009-02-26 |quote='Once we started talking about gospel we were like, You know what, we really need to do a whole other show with that,' says Chew, a New York City native who moved to Teaneck 11 years ago. }}</ref>

Chew was music director for Fox's ''American Idol'' from 2011 to 2013.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} In 2014, he musically directed the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He has also served as music director for the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants since 2010.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}

==References== {{Reflist|1}}

==Bibliography== *{{cite web |title=The One And Only Ray Chew |date=6 June 2017 |url=https://www.local802afm.org/allegro/articles/the-one-and-only-ray-chew/ }}

==External links== * [http://www.raychew.com/ Official website] * [http://www.soulinterviews.com/ray-chew-2013/ Ray Chew 2013 Audio Interview at Soulinterviews.com] * {{IMDb name|1788247}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chew, Ray}} Category:American bandleaders Category:American music arrangers Category:Television personalities from New York City Category:Living people Category:People from Morningside Heights, Manhattan Category:Musicians from Teaneck, New Jersey Category:Saturday Night Live Band members Category:American music directors Category:American conductors (music) Category:1958 births