Artistic Staff
Dr. Karen Kenaston-French
Artistic Director + Conductor
Dr. Karen Kenaston-French is an accomplished conductor and visionary musical leader who has been the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Fort Worth Chorale since 2019. As the fifth conductor in the organization’s 62-year history, she has elevated its reputation for excellence through imaginative programming, artistic innovation, and a deep commitment to engaging both performers and audiences.
Under Dr. Kenaston-French’s leadership, the Fort Worth Chorale has presented an array of dynamic programs blending classical masterworks, contemporary compositions, and pieces with popular appeal. Memorable themes include Sun, Moon, and Stars, featuring Dan Forrest’s Three Nocturnes; Circlesong, centered around Bob Chilcott’s moving work on Native American poetry; and American Treasures, highlighted by a collaboration with composer and pianist Shawn Kirchner. Other notable programs include Tango!, showcasing Martín Palmeri’s Misatango, and Jocelyn Hagen’s The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, which featured stunning video projections.
Dr. Kenaston-French has also programmed major choral-orchestral works annually, such as Duruflé’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Zadok the Priest, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. Her commitment to fostering new music has led to the commissioning of works by esteemed composers including Taylor Scott Davis, Shawn Kirchner, and Sarah Quartel.
A champion of education and collaboration, Dr. Kenaston-French has integrated dozens of guest choirs from local schools in Tarrant County and the surrounding areas into the Fort Worth Chorale’s concerts, providing students with invaluable performance opportunities. She has also included her University of Texas at Arlington A Cappella Choir in important performances, including Karl Jenkins’ Te Deum (2022) and Carmina Burana with the nationally renowned Dallas Winds in January 2025.
Her leadership has earned FWC repeat invitations from the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra to participate in their Final Fantasy concert series with conductor Arnie Roth. Furthermore, Dr. Kenaston-French has enhanced the ensemble’s artistic excellence by attracting top choral and vocal professionals in the region while also diversifying its membership and lowering the average age of singers.
Karen Kenaston-French is also Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas Arlington, where she conducts the A Cappella Choir, teaches conducting, and heads the Vocal Area. Under her direction, the UTA A Cappella Choir has performed at the Texas Music Educators Association state convention, regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, and the national conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization. Prior to UTA, Dr. Kenaston-French was Director of Choral Activities at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee. She holds degrees from West Virginia Wesleyan College, SMU, and a doctorate from UNT.
Dr. Kenaston-French’s tenure with the Fort Worth Chorale is distinguished by her creative vision, commitment to community engagement, and ability to craft performances that resonate deeply with audiences.
Jeff Lankov
Pianist
Pianist Jeff Lankov has been hailed for his “superb, fearless, ferocious, and sensitive” (New York Times) “performances of brilliance and dedication…there seems to be nothing that eludes his grasp” (New York Concert Review). His playing has been described as “muscular and moving” (Dallas Morning News) and “shimmering and assertive.” (Portland Tribune). Writes Fanfare: “This is a superb performance of the very highest standard…beyond criticism.”
Lankov is an enthusiastic advocate for living composers and for advancing the music of our time. As a soloist and sought-after collaborative artist, Lankov has performed in major concert venues throughout the world, including solo recitals at Lincoln Center and the critically acclaimed world premiere of Robert Xavier Rodríguez’ Caprichos at Carnegie Hall and subsequent recording of Rodríguez’ complete solo piano works. Lankov has recorded works by composers including John Adams, Michael Finnissy, George Gershwin, Morton Lauridsen, Olivier Messiaen, Astor Piazzolla, Jake Runestad, and Melinda Wagner. His repertoire includes works by composers as diverse as Blind Tom, Henry Cowell, George Crumb, Morton Feldman, Frederic Rzewski, and Jacob TV, along with music for toy piano and prepared piano, and Lankov’s own solo-piano transcriptions of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and The Firebird.
In the musical theatre genre, Lankov has performed on Broadway in Mary Poppins and Newsies, served as musical director for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular; and performed on Broadway national tours including Phantom of the Opera; The Book of Mormon; Miss Saigon; Jesus Christ Superstar; Beauty and the Beast; Spamalot; Beautiful, the Carole King Musical; and Wicked. Lankov is a respected cabaret arranger and coach, and has worked internationally with vocal artists of diverse styles. Lankov has collaborated with choral artists in invited performances at American Choral Director’s Association national conferences; has toured and recorded with Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and, in 2016, was appointed pianist of the Dallas Symphony Chorus.
Lankov’s multimedia performance pieces combine music with theatrical elements, visual art and computer-generated sounds and images, often in unusual juxtapositions that explore the synthesis of popular and classical forms. Dr. Lankov is Professor of Music and head of Piano Studies at Tarrant County College Northeast, and received a Ph.D. in Piano Performance from the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University.
