 |
The Brick Church's Minister of Music and Organist, Keith S. Tóth, has long been recognized as a major force in the American organ and church music scene. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he received his earliest musical training in piano and organ from Carolyn Ferguson Slaugh and Russell G. Wichmann, two prominent Presbyterian church musicians. He went on to receive degrees in harpsichord, organ, and musicology from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music where he studied organ with Garth Peacock and William Porter and harpsichord with Lisa Goode Crawford and Margaret Irwin-Brandon. He subsequently studied and coached in Europe and the United States with Marie-Claire Alain, Lynne Davis, Laurette Goldberg, Gerre Hancock, Marie-Louise Langlais, Gustav Leonhardt, and Harald Vogel among others. As a recitalist and continuo player, he has performed in major organ and early music venues throughout the United States and Europe and is highly regarded as a specialist in the performance practices of keyboard, vocal and choral music. An esteemed choral conductor, Keith Tóth was invited by the American Guild of Organists to conduct choral performances for the Centennial Convention of the American Guild of Organists that was held in New York City in 1996. He has also prepared choirs for performances at Carnegie Hall in New York City under conductors Sir David Willcocks and John Rutter.
From 1983 to 1993 Tóth served as Minister of Music at the First Congregational Church of Danbury, Connecticut, a position once held by the noted American composer Charles Ives. During this period, he also served as a member of the music faculty of Western Connecticut State University where he was conductor of the university's choirs and teacher of organ and harpsichord performance. Since September 1993, Tóth has held the distinguished position of Minister of Music at The Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City — a position that the legendary American organist, pedagogue, and church musician Dr. Clarence Dickinson held for 51 years. At Brick Church, he leads one of the United States' finest sacred music programs. From 1992 to 1994, Keith Tóth was Dean of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. He has also been Chair of the St. Wilfrid Club, a private, elected-to-membership organization of the finest organists in the United States. In May 2010, Keith was again elected Dean of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists for a two year term. He was re-elected to this post in May 2012 for another two years. As Dean of the New York City Chapter, he leads the 400+ member organization.
Since the early 1990s, Tóth has been acknowledged as a leading consultant on pipe organ building. He has been consultant for several of the most prominent new organ installations in the United States. At Brick Church, he was the leading force in the design of the Guilbault-Thérien organ (1996) for the Chapel of the Reformed Faith and the monumental Casavant Frères organ (2005) for the church's Sanctuary.
Tóth has recorded for B&V Recordings, Ethereal Recordings and New World Records. His recorded performances are featured regularly on radio broadcasts worldwide including National Public Radio, Minnesota Public Radio and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. His recording “Paris on Park Avenue”, which was recorded on the Cavaillé-Coll inspired Guilbault-Thérien organ in the Chapel of the Reformed Faith of The Brick Church, won the "Golden Ear Award" from The Absolute Sound Magazine-The High End Journal of Audio and Music for Best Recordings of 1999.