Richmond Denzel Garrick is an aspiring classical pianist. He has studied the Piano & Pipe Organ privately. Presently, he is a student at Westminster Choir College, majoring in Piano Performance under the guidance of Professor Ingrid Clarfield, a nationally recognized teacher, clinician, pianist, and author.

Richmond has performed in numerous piano recitals and the “Associated Music Teachers League”, recently selected him after auditioning, to play in a ‘Young Musicians Concert’ in Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall.

He has done three annual solo piano recitals between 2011-2015 at the United Methodist Church in New Brunswick, New Jersey and Christ The King Episcopal Church on Charleston Road, in Burlington, New Jersey. Richmond also received an outstanding honor from the New Jersey State Governor, Chris Christie, for his musical accomplishments.

His outstanding performance at the Regional Piano Competition of the “National Association of Negro Musicians” earned him a second place position. He was also one of the three top finalist at the “National Princeton Piano Festival” in June 2010 and he also received Honorable Mention at the “West Chester University Annual Piano Competition” in 2011, hosted by West Chester University. He was also awarded the Robert B. and Frances Tice-Claytor Endowed Scholarship along with first place in the Sophmore Division for Westminster Piano Competition from Rider University in this spring semester. Past accomplishments include a Gold Star from South Jersey Music Teachers Association, as well as honors from the New Jersey Music Teachers Association. He finds time to entertain the elderly residents at the Monroe Village Rehabilitation Center, Merwick Care & Rehabilitation in Princeton, and Care One in Moorestown.

In 2011, just after the brutal civil war in Sierra Leone, Richmond had the unique opportunity during an emotional visit to his parents homeland, to meet his grand parents for the first time and also performed at St. Georges Cathedral, in the capital city of Freetown.

Judges have praised his musicality, technical confidence, sensitivity, artistic maturity and charisma in auditions and competitions. They believe “He is on his way to becoming a fantastic pianist.”

My name is Jianyu Zhao. I am a rising Senior at Westminster Choir College. I am majoring in Piano Performance and studying with Mrs. Clarfield. I come from Qihe county, Shandong Province, China. Neither of my parents are musicians; they both majored in history and are teachers at school. I am the first musician in my family and my younger sister also comes into the music area later. In my childhood, I enjoyed listening to music, especially the soft music because it made me calm and happy. My mother told me that music could make me stop crying when I was a baby.

I began to play the piano at the age of 7. I have studied with Professor Kangwei Hou, a well-known music educator at Shandong University, for 11 years. He not only taught me how to play the piano but also taught me the character a person as well as a musician should have. I have been studying with Mrs. Clarfield since I came to Westminster Choir College in 2014. I made the connection with her through emails in 2013. At that time, I was applying for Westminster Choir College but the admissions office kept telling me that they could not find my application materials. In this circumstance, Mrs. Clarfield went to the office and found my materials. Therefore, I got the chance to study at Westminster Choir College because of her help. Mrs. Clarfield is a great teacher. She is humorous, enthusiastic, energetic and encouraging. I appreciate her enthusiasm of music and teaching. I have learned a lot from her, for instance, the better understanding of different music compositions, the technique of using pedals, the attitude and technique of teaching and so on. Although I am in America by myself, her kindness makes me feel at home and not so lonely.

I had many performance experience and I attended lots of musical activities. I have been an accompanist on Sunday in the church since I was 9 years old. I won the Bronze Medal in “Children's Music Festival and Performance of Shandong Province for the 10th Anniversary of HongKong's Return to China”. I was a volunteer of the school donation for the local nursing home and I played piano solo in it. I served as a soloist and accompanist of Christmas carols during the Christmas music concert for students. I got the First Prize in the No.1 High School of Qihe County Shandong Province entrance examination of arts. It was face to all the art students from different middle schools in Qihe county. When I was in high school, I taught piano lessons to primary school students during the summer vacations. I accompanied the choir that attend the “Eighth Chinese excellent talent students' show activity Shandong Province Division in Senior high school” and they won the gold medal.

I feel greatly honored by receiving the “Damien Dixon Memorial Scholarship”. I was deeply moved when Mrs. Clarfield sent me his quote :“ The Damien Dixon Memorial Scholarship is given to a pianist for whom the piano is more than just a major. The pianist worthy of this award plays with imagination and personality and uses the piano to stir up the emotions of the listener.” Such beautiful and inspiring words is a special honor to the pianist who receives this scholarship. Playing the piano plays a significantly crucial role in my life. I am fond of music because it can share my happiness and sadness. Music is a gift from God and a language without words. Praising the Lord for leading me to Westminster Choir college and to study the piano with Mrs. Clarfield. I want to give thanks to Damien and Mrs. Clarfield for offering me this special honor. This is precious and I will always cherish it. Thanks for all the donors of the “Damien Dixon Memorial Scholarship”; your generous support for musicians is really encouraging. This honor will frequently motivates me to become an outstanding musician in the future.

I started playing the piano at the age of 12, much to my own dismay. My mother and brother signed me up for a lesson without telling me, and when that fateful Monday finally came I was kicking and screaming. Why would I want to do something so boring as classical music? Who wants to play the piano anyway? Well, after the first lesson I said that I would give it another shot, one more lesson to see how I really felt. After that second lesson I had fallen hopelessly in love with the notion of being a pianist, and after one year of lessons I felt a new multitude within my everyday thought. That new multitude was, and is, the sound world of music.!

I have given concerts all over the NYC metropolitan area, some most notable ones being at the Salvation Army Citadel in Montclair, New Jersey as well as the First Presbyterian Church in Caldwell, NJ. I am a published composer and have also started my own record label having currently produced three albums which have been released all over online stores. My music has traveled as far as Uganda and my music has had premieres in places such as Yale University, Princeton University, and soon to be Strasbourg France. I have had the honor of winning a number of competitions, scholarships and awards, and have competed in composition and piano competitions alike. I am currently a rising Junior double major at Westminster Choir College studying Piano and Music Composition.

We as pianists, and as musicians, aspire to communicate our passion in our performance, for our art is a communicative one. When I heard Damien’s famous quote, "play with imagination and personality", I was humbled for I could not think of a better way to put it. If we are honest in the moments of the music, and honest in our study and craft, then we will be able to communicate our music in the same world of effect that Damien once did. This scholarship has inspired me to charge on into the days ahead of me, pursuing real work and true music, music that will speak to those who I am seeking to speak to. I am honored to have received this award, I cannot fully put my feelings into words.

My name is Robert Colby-Witanek, and I am a senior at Westminster Choir College, majoring in piano and studying with Mrs. Ingrid Clarfield. I have had an interest in music for as long as I can remember and started taking piano lessons when I was four years old. I studied with Borka Zivanovic for most of my childhood. Learning new pieces always excited me, and I frequently picked ambitious repertoire – I liked the challenge and the diversity of repertoire. I also have always enjoyed working with other musicians – no matter what skill level there is always something I can learn from the experience.

Throughout my childhood, I frequently played piano at nursing homes. Starting in sixth grade, I did various accompanying work for choirs and for rehearsals for school musical productions. Both my middle school and high school choir directors frequently chose to have me accompany at choral concerts. In 2011, my choral director sent a letter of recommendation for me to attend Composition Week and Piano Camp at Westminster Choir College, experiences which have really helped me to build my musicianship. I had not been taking piano lessons at the time, but I was fortunate to meet Kristen Topham at piano camp, and I began taking lessons with her to prepare for college auditions.

In college, I continue to accompany, and have played for choral rehearsals, voice lessons, and vocal performances in studio and performance classes, and I have given vocal coaching. I also tutor music theory and piano. Working with the faculty of Westminster Choir College has truly helped me to explore different perspectives on music and performance, as well as building the skills that are relevant to the type of work that I am interested in doing. I have recently had the honor of playing in Weill Recital Hall for the Young Musicians Concert. In addition, while my heavy involvement in choir during high school was my original reason for wanting to go to Westminster Choir College, my experiences in Symphonic Choir have reminded me why choir is so important to me and what it truly means to be a musician.

All this has helped me along on my continuing journey to develop a better understanding for music, for what it does for me, and for what it means to share a connection with an audience and to express myself through music. Music has helped me through many difficult times in my life, and I want to be able to pass that on to other people and to continue to use it as a medium of self-expression. It is experiences like these that allow me to, as Damien Dixon said, “play with imagination and personality.” I am honored and thankful to Mrs. Clarfield for naming me for this award, to Damien Dixon for providing such inspiring words for me to continue to live by, and to those who donated to the scholarship.

Greetings! My name is Katianne Janney. I am a Senior at Westminster Choir College and am double-majoring in piano and music education. I am a Resident Advisor, the president of WCC’s cNAfME Chapter 183 and an Andrew J. Rider Scholar. I grew up in Pennsylvania and am the second oldest of seven children. As a homeschooled student, I was always encouraged to follow my calling and pursue my interests until I could no more. Though I began playing the piano when I was 6 years old, I first became interested in pursuing piano at a higher level when I entered high school. That summer, I began looking for a new teacher. After weeks of searching, I finally found a lady in a neighboring town and scheduled a trial lesson. Upon meeting her, our personalities immediately clicked. I was excited and overjoyed – I had finally found a teacher!

Three days later, my father was diagnosed with cancer. For obvious reasons, my parents called my new teacher stating that I would not be taking music lessons. I was devastated. Did this mean that my music lessons would stop, never again to restart?

On Sunday, the beginning of a new week, this new piano teacher telephoned my mother. Even though she barely knew me, she offered to give me piano lessons in exchange for babysitting. This was the first time that my mother cried. Music held me together during my Dad’s cancer, giving me the means to escape my circumstances and deal with life. Whenever I was disturbed by Dad’s failing condition and waning health, whenever I couldn’t handle the fact that he couldn’t get out of bed and couldn’t talk because of the pain, I could express my pent-up emotions through the smooth black and white keys. When my Dad entered into remission, when he learned to walk again, when he could return back to work and resume normal activities, the piano received my joy and delight. Praise be to God – he is now in his 6th year of remission with no sign of the cancer returning.

Since music helped me cope with circumstances that were beyond my control, as a career, I want to overcome the poverty of the human spirit by making the artistic dreams of underserved, underprivileged children come true. Ideally, I want to establish an organization that provides scholarship and opportunity for children and young adults to study the arts through private instruction, master classes, performance/showcase opportunities, and community-outreach programs. I want to motivate these students to then, in turn, transform their own communities through the arts.

I study music so that I can make a difference in the lives of others by empowering them through the arts. So that finances will not hinder me in my ability to serve others, I am attempting to graduate from Westminster debt-free. I greatly thank you for helping me reach my goals. Your generous donation towards the Damien Dixon Scholarship has brought my dream closer to reality. I am so encouraged that you care about the future graduates of Westminster. May you be richly blessed as you continue to fuel the visions and aspirations of the next generation.

My name is Matthew Gutwald, and I am a recent graduate of Westminster Choir College. During my undergraduate years, I studied as a Piano major with Mrs. Clarfield. I have studied piano from when I was 8 years old, and have loved it every step of the way. While in middle school, I received first prize in the county and state level of a Teen Arts Festival held in New Jersey. I have performed in many Young Musicians recitals throughout high school, and played piano regularly in school productions of musicals and concerts. Before I came to Westminster, I was awarded first prize in three performance scholarship competitions for high school seniors. I attended the Piano Camp founded and ran by Mrs. Clarfield my junior and senior year, and that experience has led me to four wonderfully musical years under her instruction at Westminster. While an undergraduate, I placed first in the Westminster Scholarship Competition in 2010, and second in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, I had the great honor of performing at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall part of the 78th AMTL Young Musicians Concert. I currently have my own private piano studio, and I am a faculty member of Musicians in the Making in West Windsor, NJ.

Music has always been a big part of my life. It was my outlet and my escape from anything and everything in the world. It is truly the greatest feeling in the world to be able to pour your heart and soul into an instrument and share your emotions to anyone listening through music. I first heard of this award as a freshman at Westminster, and after listening to Damien’s words, I strived to be a better musician and live up to those expectations. He beautifully summarized exactly what every pianist should do: “to play with imagination and personality.” Whenever I sit down to play anything at the piano, I always put myself emotionally into the music, and my goal is to pull emotions out of the listener. I am incredibly humbled and honored to have received this award in my final year as an undergraduate. I feel as if I have learned the most important lesson there is when it comes to performing music, and I want to thank both Damien and Mrs. Clarfield for guiding me to where I am.

My name is Raymond Nugent. I was raised in Red Bank, NJ and graduated from Red Bank Regional High School in 2010. In high school, I was a piano major for four years and part of Tri-M Music Honor Society. I achieved several awards in high school, including the Most Promising Pianist Award, the Artist-Scholar Award, the Music Theorist Award, Most Outstanding Pianist Award, and second place in a scholarship competition. I first met Mrs. Clarfield when I played for her in a master class my junior year of high school, and then came to know her much better when I attended the Westminster Choir College’s Piano Camp. When applying for colleges started, I knew I wanted to study at Westminster with Mrs. C. I am now a junior at Westminster Choir College. I placed second in the freshman level Annual Piano Competition and honorary mention in sophomore level competition. I’ve played in several performance classes throughout my first two years and gave my Junior Piano Recital during spring semester of my sophomore year. I also enjoy accompanying for several undergraduate students on campus, and last semester I was the accompanist for the Westminster Conservatory Collegiate Chorale. Besides piano, I am also a second year member of the Westminster Concert Handbell Choir.

Receiving this award is such a great honor for me. I had known of the award, of Damien, and I have known several previous recipients of the award but actually being part of this group of immensely musical and talented pianists has left me in awe. When I perform, like so many other musicians, I feel my main goal is to play with as much musical style and emotion as I can, and the more I do this the more I captivate my audience. I understand that Damien was known for catching his audience’s attention the second he took his first bow and kept it until his final bow almost every time he played – something I will always strive for. Knowing the kind of musician Damien was, I will always have the utmost appreciation for being a recipient of this award and for all of those who have and will have the honor of receiving it.

My name is Josh Wilson and I am currently a rising sophomore at Westminster Choir College studying Piano with Professor Ingrid Clarfield. I am from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and has been studying piano for 8 years. I attended Piano camp for two summers and had great experiences which drew me to Westminster and Mrs. Clarfield. I perform an annual Christmas Recital at Kirkland Village in Bethlehem, PA where my Grandmother lives I also play for church every fourth Sunday. Other than piano, I play trombone and has been to P.M.E.A. All-State Band and many other music festivals during high school. With his high school’s ensemble, The Liberty High School Grenadier Band, I have performed on the Battleship Missouri in Pearl Harbor, The Tournament of Roses Parade, and The Fortissimo ceremonies on Parliament hill in Canada with Her Majesties Coldsteam Guards. Outside of music, Josh is an avid runner, competing in both track and cross country placing in states two years in a row. During his freshman year at Westminster, Josh placed third in the Westminster Piano competition and also placed in the Associated Music Teachers League Young Musicians Competition and was selected to play in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall.

This award is very important to me because it reflects heavily on my playing style at the piano. When I play the piano, I recreate a huge orchestra in my head. I will practice for hours and hours to work on the notes, the phrasing, articulations, dynamics and all sorts of things. However, when it is time to perform the piece, I will think about none of these things. Musicality takes over. Hitting all the notes comes secondary to the emotion and musicality that is conveyed through the music. Damien played with this philosophy too. When Mrs. Clarfield told me I had received this award, I was in awe. She once said “He wasn’t the cleanest pianist...” A complement I have been told a few times myself. I would have loved to meet Damien based on stories I’ve heard about him. It is a huge honor to receive an award in memorial to Damien.

My name is Jared Slaymaker and I am a Sophomore at Westminster Choir College. Working towards a Bachelor’s of Music Degree in Piano, under the instruction of Professor Ingrid Clarfield, I hope to perform in the world’s great concert stages and halls. I also hope to encourage youth to learn and cherish the values and lifes of the world’s great classical composers and their music. Soccer, playing violin, singing, conducting, getting to know new people, and of course piano have been my favorite hobbies since my early teenage years.

At the age of nine, I began taking private piano lessons with Mary Soper. She taught both my older sister and older brother before I came along. Before she had passed away, when I was fifteen, she suggested I take private lessons from Benjamin Whitten. Mr. Whitten was a tough transition from my previous teacher but was an advocate for learning repertoire for college auditions. Not only did he prepare me for college auditions but he suggested I attend the Westminster Piano Camp. I am proud to say that I can thank him for truly making my auditions go well and for getting me into Westminster Choir College. And I am also extremely proud to call myself a three year Westminster Piano Camp Attendee!! Now that I attend Westminster, I am learning so much more than I thought I could after only two years! I am focusing a whole lot more on conducting, singing, theory and piano. I’d have to say that it was a real honor to hear my name announced as the 2010-2011 Damien Dixon Memorial Scholarship winner! I was shocked! I thank Mrs. Clarfield and Damien and am so glad I won a Scholarship after someone who clearly understood how powerful and touching music can be on people’s lives! Thank you again Mrs. Clarfield and Damien!

Christopher McWilliams is currently an undergraduate junior at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey. He is majoring in both Organ and Piano Performance. His piano teacher is Mrs. Phyllis Lehrer, and his organ instructor Professor Kenneth Cowan. Even though he is also a temporary accompanist for a talented violist, he hopes to become a church organist and a piano teacher some day.

In his early years, Christopher studied the piano with Mrs. Marilyn Taggart and the organ with Dr. Kevin Parizo in Middlebury, Vermont. When Mrs. Taggart recommended Westminster Choir College to him, he decided to participate in the High School Piano Camp in the summer of 2005. He enjoyed it so much, that he became part of the Organ Camp the following summer. Thanks to the wonderful instruction and encouragement from his teachers, he is lucky to be a student at a delightful and fun musical college.

I am a Junior Piano and Music Theater Major at Westminster Choir College. I was attracted to Westminster because of an extraordinary lesson I had with Mrs. Clarfield in 2006.

I began taking lessons at the age of six with Jane Benson and began studying with Mrs. Clarfield my freshman year at Westminster. I won the Richmond Symphony Concerto Competition in 2005, and was a finalist in the Young Musicians Concert, granting me the opportunity to make my Carnegie Hall debut this past May.

Being a singer as well, I enjoy using my piano skills as an accompanist and coach for Westminster students, an accompanist for school productions, and as music director for a student run production.

This past spring, I was honored at my Junior Piano Recital with the Damien Dixon Memorial Scholarship. Not having known Damien, I decided to do some reading about him to see why I, of all people, deserve his award. I found myself laughing at loud while reading his eulogy as I slowly realized through the anecdotes what a remarkable gift AND personality he had. His incredible talent, strength, bravery, and mission to make more than music with the piano inspire me to live up to this award.

Kathryn Whitaker is a piano student of professor Ingrid Clarfield. She is a music education student in the BM/MAT program. Kathryn is a native of Eynon, Pennsylvania, where she works as a vocal coach, accompanist and wedding musician. Kathryn is also a cantor at St. Peter’s Cathedral, Scranton.

In the winter of her senior year in high school Kathryn won the Westminster Choir College Piano Competition for incoming freshmen. She has a varied musical background and was a two-time Pennsylvania All-State soprano, drum major of the marching band and played bassoon, percussion and flute in her high school band. She also played bassoon in the Marywood University (Scranton, PA) Wind Ensemble. Kathryn has performed in piano recitals twice at Weil Hall, New York City. She studied piano under the direction of Sr. Immaculate Severino, IHM, NCTM,. ".

In the spring of 2006, Kathryn won the Freshmen Piano Competition and was also inducted into the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honor Society for First year College Students. She was the soprano soloist in Brittens’ “Rejoice In The Lamb” as performed by the Chapel Choir.

In the winter of Kathryn’s sophomore year at WCC, she performed her junior piano performance recital at Williamson Hall, fulfilling this requirement a year in advance.

She also was a member and featured soloist with the Williamson Voices and the Jubilee Singers. Kathryn has recently been invited into the BM/MAT Degree Program at Westminster Choir College, this will enables her to earn a Bachelor’s in Music Education. and a Masters of Teaching degree with an additional year of study.

At Spring Convocation when Kathryn learned she was the second recipient of the esteemed Damien Dixon Memorial Scholarship, she felt “not only honored, but very, very humbled to be considered worthy of Damien’s award.” Upon hearing that Kathryn won Damien’s Scholarship, Sr. Severino was proud to share her connection with one of Damien’s proudest moments. The year that Damien Dixon won the National Baldwin Piano Competition, Sr. Severino was the chairperson of the National Piano Teachers Guild, She reminisced with Kathryn how she proudly presented Damien’s musical score to the panel of judges, complete with Mrs. Clarfield’s flamboyantly colored interpretations on display!

        Ryan Brechmacher is a senior piano and composition double major at Westminster Choir College. He was selected unanimously by the Piano Department as the recipient of the first Damien Dixon Memorial Scholarship. Damien described the person who he would have liked to receive this scholarship. In Damien’s words:

“The Damien Dixon Memorial Scholarship is given to an undergraduate pianist for whom the piano is more than just a major. The pianist worthy of this award plays with imagination and personality and uses the piano to stir up the emotions of the listener.”

 This award was announced on April 27, 2006 at the Awards Convocation at Westminster Choir College of Rider University. Ryan has been working on transcribing Damien's piano music, with the hopes of publication. He was working with Damien up until the time of his passing in November on the project.

Ryan is a native of Bowling Green, Ohio, which is home to Bowling Green State University, where Brechmacher has been involved in many projects. He has recently taught theory classes and been a counselor at both the BGSU Piano Camp, and been a counselor, vocal coach, and accompanist for the BGSU Musical Theater Camp. He has also been involved in the university's Opera for Youth program, singing the role of Defense Lawyer in "The Trial of Goldilocks".

At Westminster, Brechmacher is active in the WCC Christian Fellowship and in Rider's Protestant Campus Ministries, acting as worship leader for both groups.

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"Receiving this scholarship means a lot to me, as I have worked with Damien both professionally and personally during my years at Westminster. He was a great guy, always with a sense of humor no matter what was going on around him. He was wise beyond his years and profound in even the most mundane things he would say and do. It's been a privilege working on transcribing his music, and it is an honor to be the first recipient of the scholarship in his name." 

Ryan Brechmacher

Eulogy for Damien Dixon
By Ingrid Clarfield
December 3, 2005

My Hero by Johnathan Yao

Today, society describes a hero as anyone who is able to do the right thing, exhibit moral honestly and exhibit incredible initiative and courage. Our expectations for our heroes have been lowered to a mortal level compared with the earliest heroes. Back in ancient Greece and Rome, the only hero was a classical hero. A man that “exhibits emotional courage, must deal with an opposing power, experiences death, possess intelligence and wit, uses abilities to help others, goes on a quest or journey, achieves divinity, has an unusual birth and an immortal parents, and possesses great physical strengths. While I do believe that today’s heroes do not carry the same burdens Odysseus, Achilles, and Hector had to burden, they still have no easy task.

In my opinion, a hero today would still have to be extraordinary. I would expect my hero to be inspirational, caring, respected, exceptionally talented, and most importantly, overcome horrible hardships to accomplish a task and help his community. He must be unique in what he does and serve as a role model to those who look to him. While my hero may not have had an unusual birth or great physical strengths, he certainly possesses all of the characteristics I look for in a hero and even some of a classical hero’s traits. My hero is Damien Dixon. Although he may not be as well known as Kobe Bryant or Bill Gates, his accomplishments and deeds are not to be overlooked. Damien Dixon died on November 25th, 2005 due to a demoplastic small round cell tumor, a rare and highly aggressive form of cancer. Ironically, his doctors declared that he would live no longer than the 24th. This is a prime example of the life he lived and his contributions for my passion for piano and my understanding of life. I first met Damien when I was nine years old while I was auditioning for a spot in Mrs. Ingrid Clarfield’s prestigious piano studio. Although my piano skills at the time were not sufficient, and Mrs. Clarfield turned me down. I ended up gaining an even more important friend and mentor in Damien. Somewhere in the tryout, my parents were introduced to Damien. He taught me some piano and it was really his