RAY CAPIRAL, pianist & organist, composer & arranger, teacher, choral director, and avid knitter, took up the piano formally at age 15. He could learn complex pieces just by ear, and began a self-directed course of study that would have him performing pinnacle works of Chopin and Beethoven after just one year of study. He became a student of Jason Phillips at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music (Pasadena, CA). After graduating from Herbert Hoover High School in 2001, Mr. Capiral began teaching piano lessons, and he attended Pasadena City College where he received his Associate in Arts degree in music performance (2006); he then attended UCLA and graduated with his Bachelor in Arts degree in music composition (2009). Throughout much of his formative years as a pianist, Capiral studied with Mario Feninger (http://www.mariofeninger.com), who was himself a master pianist and composer and received much of his training from Nadia Boulanger and Mario’s own mother, Teresa de Rogatis. Mr. Capiral also accompanied and performed extensively around Los Angeles. He worked as a first grade Teacher Aide at Saint Paul the Apostle School in Westwood, CA (2008-2010), before relocating to San Francisco, CA, in 2011.

As a struggling musician during his early years in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mr. Capiral discovered Methodism and knitting, and he served as Music Director at Open Door United Methodist Church (Richmond, CA) and Pianist/Organist at Mira Vista United Church of Christ (El Cerrito, CA) from 2013-2016 before accepting the position of Music Director at Bethany United Methodist Church (San Francisco, CA, bethanysf.org). He held that post from 2016-2020. Mr. Capiral moved to New York City on Feb. 1, 2020, and worked under Bill Capone at Arts Management Group, Inc. (https://www.artsmg.com), in service of some of the world’s greatest performing artists, until the 2020 pandemic halted the industry and he decided to move back to SF in June of that year. He later rejoined AMG, working remotely from his home in Oakland, CA. He served as the principal Pianist/Organist and assistant choir director (Collaborative Liturgical Accompanist) Saint Ignatius Church (https://stignatiussf.org, University of San Francisco [USF]) in San Francisco, CA, and has most recently collaborated with the adult/semi-professional ensembles Songbird City Chorus and Throckmorton Chorus; and with National Children’s Chorus (San Francisco chapter), Cantare con vivo, and Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choirs as a Teaching Artist, youth choir director, and piano accompanist to elementary and middle school choirs. Mr. Capiral has an active private piano & composition studio working with more than 29 students of many ages, levels, and backgrounds. He is the founder and Choral Artistic Director of Lamorinda Chorus, and also coaches and performs as an orchestral percussionist with the Lamorinda Community Band, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization he helped to found and lead with Flutist and Music Educator, Executive Director John Speers. Ray Capiral is the Organist and Director of Music at Saint Francis Lutheran Church in San Francisco, CA.