Ray Chew is an American musician who specializes in keyboards and contemporary and orchestral arranging. He is the music director of ABC's

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

(2014–present). Chew was music director for Fox's

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

from 2010 to 2013. In 2014, Chew musically directed the

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

. He has also served as music director for the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

and

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

pageants since 2010. Chew was a member of the

Saturday Night Live Band The Saturday Night Live Band (referred to in the closing credits as The Live Band) is the house band of the NBC television program ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL''). Role on ''Saturday Night Live'' The band consists of mostly jazz, R&B, and ...

from 1980 to 1983. During the 90s & 2000s, he was music director for the syndicated television series ''

Showtime at the Apollo ''Showtime at the Apollo'' (formerly ''It's Showtime at the Apollo'' and ''Apollo Live'') is an American variety show that first aired in syndication from September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008. In 2018, the series returned on Fox with Steve Harvey ...

'' and the bandleader on '' The Singing Bee''. Chew was the bandleader during the

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The conventi ...

, and at the Barack Obama Neighborhood Ball at the

First inauguration of Barack Obama The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendanc ...

in 2009.Lustig, Jay
"New Jersey musician kicks off festival paying tribute to African-American culture"
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to ''The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of wh ...

'', February 26, 2009. Accessed February 26, 2009. Chew grew up in the

Grant Houses General Ulysses S. Grant Houses or Grant Houses is a public housing project at the northern boundary of Morningside Heights in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. The complex consists of 10 buildings with over 1,940 apartment units on 15.05- ...

in Harlem.Beckerman, Jim
"The pro who rules amateur night"
''

The Record (Bergen County) ''The Record'' (also called ''The North Jersey Record'', ''The Bergen Record'', ''The Sunday Record'' (Sunday edition) and formerly ''The Bergen Evening Record'') is a newspaper in New Jersey, United States. Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson and P ...

'', June 28, 2009. Accessed June 28, 2009. He studied at

Harlem School of the Arts Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) is an art school in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. Harlem School of the Arts was founded in 1964, by soprano Dorothy Maynor. Maynor was succeeded by mezzo-soprano Betty Allen as President in 1979, when a new 3 ...

. He also studied at

Third Street Music School Settlement Third Street Music School Settlement is the longest-running community music school in the United States. Founded in 1894, it is at 235 East 11th Street, New York. Third Street has three main programs: a music & dance school, a music-infused Presc ...

in the early 1970s for four years, where he became a student teacher alongside faculty member Ramon Rodriguez. He concentrated on percussion, piano and contemporary jazz. At 16, Chew landed his first professional gig with Tony award winner

Melba Moore Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba Smith (sources differ) (born October 29, 1945), known by her stage name Melba Moore, is an American singer and actress. Biography Early life and education Moore was born Beatrice Melba Hill or Beatrice Melba ...

. Then at 19, he was discovered by

Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson Ashford & Simpson were an American husband-and-wife songwriting-production team and recording artists, recording duo of Nickolas Ashford (May 4, 1941 – August 22, 2011) and Valerie Simpson (born August 26, 1946). Ashford was born in Fairfield ...

, who chose him as their music director and ushered him into the New York session scene where he plied his craft as an arranger and first call pianist in many records and Jingles. Chew is credited as arranger and or pianists in recordings for artists including

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

Luther Vandross Luther Ronzoni Vandross Jr. (April 20, 1951 – July 1, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his sweet and soulful vocals, Vandross has sold over 40 million records worldwide. He achieved eleven consecutive P ...

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (born February 10, 1937) is a retired American singer. She topped the Billboard Magazine, ''Billboard'' charts with the No. 1 singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song", "Feel Like M ...

and Donny Hathaway.

References

3. "The One And Only Ray Chew

External links

Official website

Ray Chew 2013 Audio Interview at Soulinterviews.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chew, Ray American bandleaders Television personalities from New York City Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Living people People from Harlem People from Teaneck, New Jersey Saturday Night Live Band members Music directors Dancing with the Stars American conductors (music) Year of birth missing (living people) American music arrangers