# Ray Chew
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{{short description|American musician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
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| name = Ray Chew
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| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|9|7}}[{{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 }}]
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| origin = [Manhattan](/source/Manhattan), New York City
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| occupation = Music Director and Pianist
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| years_active = 1980–present
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'''Ray Chew''' (born 7 September 1958)[{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/ray-chew|publisher=The HistoryMakers|title=Ray Chew}}] 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](/source/Dancing_with_the_Stars_(American_TV_series))'' since 2014.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
==Biography==
Chew grew up in the [Grant Houses](/source/Grant_Houses) in [Morningside Heights](/source/Morningside_Heights), and moved to [Teaneck, New Jersey](/source/Teaneck%2C_New_Jersey), in 2000.[{{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](/source/The_Record_(North_Jersey)) |date=2009-06-28 |accessdate=2009-06-28 }}] He was given a scholarship to study in the children's program at the [Juilliard School](/source/Juilliard_School) on the [Upper West Side](/source/Upper_West_Side) at six years old, and later studied at [Harlem School of the Arts](/source/The_Harlem_School_of_the_Arts).[{{Cite web|url=https://internationalmusician.org/ray-chew/|title=Ray Chew | International Musician|website=internationalmusician.org}}] He also studied at [Third Street Music School Settlement](/source/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](/source/Melba_Moore). At 19, [Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson](/source/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](/source/Diana_Ross), [Luther Vandross](/source/Luther_Vandross), [Roberta Flack](/source/Roberta_Flack), and [Donny Hathaway](/source/Donny_Hathaway).{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}[{{Cite web |title=Ray Chew Personal Website |url=http://www.raychew.com/}}]
Chew was a member of the [Saturday Night Live Band](/source/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](/source/Showtime_at_the_Apollo)'' and the bandleader on ''[The Singing Bee](/source/The_Singing_Bee_(U.S._game_show))''.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} He was the bandleader during the [2008 Democratic National Convention](/source/2008_Democratic_National_Convention), and the [Barack Obama Neighborhood Ball](/source/First_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama) on the night after the [first inauguration of Barack Obama](/source/first_inauguration_of_Barack_Obama) in 2009.[{{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](/source/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. }}]
Chew was music director for Fox's ''[American Idol](/source/American_Idol)'' from 2011 to 2013.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}} In 2014, he musically directed the [Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade](/source/Macy's_Thanksgiving_Day_Parade). He has also served as music director for the [Miss Universe](/source/Miss_Universe) and [Miss USA](/source/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
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ray Chew](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Chew) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Chew?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.