Anthony Baron is proud to be a senior studying with Mrs. Clarfield. Originally from Michigan, Anthony has enjoyed having the opportunity at Westminster to perform in a masterclass on spanish music, as well as a performance of Schumann's Piano Concerto in a minor with the Westminster Community Orchestra. Current repertoire includes John Adam's "American Berserk" and Chopin's third piano sonata. While at Westminster he has received first place in the Westminster Choir College Piano Department Scholarship Competition in 2008, 2009, and 2010. In addition to his studies as a pianist, he is also pursuing a second major in Voice Performance and serves as President of the Westminster Choir College Student Government Association.

Candice Choi is a MM Piano Pedagogy and Performance candidate at Westminster Choir College, where she studies with Ingrid Clarifled. She received her B.M. in Piano Performance at University of the Pacific’s Conservatory of Music. She is the 2008-2009 University of the Pacific Concerto Competition Winner and had the privilege of performing as soloist with the UOP Symphony Orchestra at her graduation ceremony. Candice has studied piano with Dr. Rex Cooper, Professor Frank Wiens, Dr. Craig Nies, and Professor Mack McCray and has performed in master classes with Leon Fleisher and Richard Ormrod. Candice organized and performed in two upscale fundraising concert events this past summer, one of which was a Black Tie Gala to raise scholarships for Now Generation Chinese (NGC), a San Francisco-based scholarship foundation. An avid piano teacher, Candice is the president of WCC’s Music Teacher’s National Association (MTNA) collegiate chapter and currently teaches piano at Westminster Conservatory.

To learn more about Candice, please visit her website at www.candicechoi.com

Natasha Gonzalez is a sophomore Piano Major and Music Education double major. She is in Mrs. Clarfield’s piano studio, but has previously studied with Mrs. Lillian Livingston. She studies voice under Professor Guy Rothfuss, and is an active member of MENC, The National Association of Music Education. She sang at Carnegie Hall, last year, with Westminster Chapel Choir, under the direction of Sun Min Lee. She previously attended piano camp in 2007 and 2008. Natasha enjoys accompanying, teaching, string instruments and musical theater. In November she will be interning with Broadway composer, Jeanine Tesori, who has written music for "Thoroughly Modern Millie", "The Whos Tommy", "Shrek II", "Mulan", and "The Emperors New Groove".

Matthew Gutwald is a junior at Westminster Choir College, originally from Huntingtown, Maryland. He is a student of Ingrid Clarfield where he studies as a piano major. Over various summers, Matthew attended Mrs. Clarfield’s Piano Camp for High School Students, which led him to Westminster for his undergraduate degree. Matthew gave his Junior Recital during the second semester of his sophomore year, in the spring of 2011. He has recently participated in the Westminster Piano Scholarship Competition, where he won first prize in the freshman class in 2010, as well as second prize in the sophomore class in 2011. This past summer, Matthew taught at Piano Camp for High School Students, under the supervision of Ingrid Clarfield and Lillian Livingston. He is looking forward to another year with Mrs. Clarfield!

"I am a junior student at Westminster Choir College and I am double majoring in piano and theory/composition. I am originally from St. Petersburg, Russia. I started playing piano in Rubinstein School of Music. Later, I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where I studied in SCPA (School for Creative and Performing Arts). After that, I have moved to NJ, where I studied in Westerhoff School of Music. Now, I am studying at Westminster Choir College with Ingrid Clarfield. Last year, I have received 1st place at Westminster Scholarship Piano Competition, where I performed Chopin's Polonaise in A flat major, and Debussy's Sarabande from “Pour le Piano” suite. I enjoy performing music of Russian composers, including Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Prokofiev, and more."

Raymond Nugent was raised in Red Bank, NJ and graduated from Red Bank Regional High School in 2010. Throughout his years in high school, Raymond was been involved in numerous activities in and out of school. In school, he was a piano major for four years and part of Tri-M Music Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, and the Student to Student Leadership Program. He was also part of the school wrestling team since the eighth grade. Raymond achieved several awards throughout high school, including Academic Honor Roll all four years, the Most Promising Pianist Award, the Artist-Scholar Award, the Music Theorist Award, Most Outstanding Pianist Award, second place in a scholarship competition for $2000, and second place in the freshman level Annual Piano Competition. He has played in a variety of performances, such as the high school Winter and Spring Concerts, the Red Bank Regional Piano Gala Celebration, the Monmouth Conservatory’s Semi-annual Piano Concerts, and has enjoyed participating in community service activities like the RBR Care’s Annual AIDS Benefit and the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and playing piano at the Source Annual End-of-the-Year Dinner. During the summer, he attended the Westminster Choir College’s Piano Camp and, in previous years, attended Cornell University’s Wrestling Camp. Ray received a Merit Based Scholarship from and now is a sophomore at Westminster Choir College of the Arts in the fall for Piano, studying with Mrs. Ingrid Clarfield.

Caesfana Oh is a second year graduate student at Westminster Choir College, pursuing dual majors in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. She is currently a student of Mrs. Ingrid Clarfield. Mrs. Oh received her bachelors degree in Piano Performance at Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea. She has performed at numerous performance centers in Seoul, including Kumho Art Hall, Yamaha Hall, and Back-nam Hall. She has over 5 years of experience teaching piano to children, teenagers, and adults. She is currently working as an intern for Mrs. Clarfield at her studio. She also provides private lessons at Westminster Conservatory and in the North Jersey area as well. Mrs. Oh has interests in promoting student-centered teaching and enjoys implementing community outreach projects through music.

Jodi-Ann Russell is a second year piano pedagogy and performance grad student with Mrs C. She has studied guitar, piano and martial arts for many years. She is currently the President of the NJMTA Collegiate Chapter of Westminster Choir College. She enjoys teaching at Westminster Conservatory and Innovative Piano where she works with students with autism and special needs.

William Schruba is a senior at Westminster Choir College. Raised in Maplewood, NJ, he attended Columbia High School before attending Westminster. He studied piano for over 12 years, with 3 separate teachers, the latest being Ingrid Clarfield. At Westminster, he is a member of the Concert Bell Choir, and has toured across the United States with them. He enjoys playing Baroque music and Romantic/Late Romantic American composers. He will be having his senior recital in Spring 2010.

"My name is Jared Slaymaker and I am a Senior at Westminster Choir College working towards a Bachelor’s Degree in Piano. I hope to perform in the world’s great concert halls as well as encourage youth to learn and cherish the values and lives of the world’s great classical composers and their music. Soccer, playing violin, collecting vintage records, getting to know new people, exercising, learning and teaching myself new things, and of course piano have been my favorite hobbies since my early teenage years. I am excited and thankful to be at Westminster Choir College learning how to become a great educator and musician!"

Will Sawyer is currently a Sophomore at Westminster Choir College working towards his Bachelor’s of Music in Piano/ Piano Pedagogy. He studies piano with Ingrid Clarfield, organ with Alan Morrison and voice with Thomas Faracco. He is a native of Sudbury, Massachusetts. He recently won first place in the 2011 Westminster Piano Scholarship Competition (freshman division). During the past month he gave a piano recital in his home town to raise money for his high school music department in honor of a teacher who died last year due to cancer. Will is looking forward to another great year with Mrs.Clarfield and is working hard to prepare for his Junior Piano Recital in the Spring 2012 semester.

Feifei Tang is a first year graduate student of Westminster Choir College , major in Piano Pedagogy and Performance and studying Piano with Ingrid Clarfield. She comes from China, Guangzhou. She received her B.M. in Music Education of Piano Performance in Xinghai Conservatory of Music . She received silver medal in Piano Competition at International Children and Youths Piano Competition. She was an internship of Guangzhou No.86 High School and was responsible for tutoring the students who will attend Art Entrance Exam professional skills in school, mainly teaching the piano performance and giving consideration to vocal music, sight singing and ear training and music theory. Feifei Tang has studied piano with Dr. Vivian Li and Dr. Jay Sun. Feifei is currently teaches piano in the the Piano Plus and Private Lesson programs at Westminster Conservatory.

"Hi! I’m Josh Wilson and I am currently a sophomore studying as a Piano Major at Westminster Choir College. I’m from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and have now been playing piano for 8 years. I was a piano camper for two years with Mrs. Clarfield and now have the opportunity to study with her here at Westminster. Last year I placed in the AMTL Young Musicians Concert and performed in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall. Last year I was honored to receive the Damien Dixon Memorial Scholarship, dedicated to one of Mrs. Clarfield’s Past students. Along with piano, I love to play trombone and qualified for P.M.E.A. All-State Band my senior year of high school. With my high school band I have performed at Pearl Harbor, The Tournament of Roses Parade, And The Fortissimo Ceremonies on Parliament Hill in Canada with Her Majesties Coldstream Guards. Aside from music, I love outdoor activities such as running, and Frisbee football, and biking. I am looking forward to an exciting year!"

"Hello all, I am happy to have moved over to the "Alumni" side of this page! I graduated with an MM in May 2010 in Piano Pedagogy/Performance and Music Education. I am now teaching a full load of students at Westminster Conservatory in Princeton and Hunterdon Academy of the Arts in Flemington. I have also continued to work with Mrs. C's High School Piano Camp in the summers. So even after having graduated, I will always have Mrs. C close to my heart!"

David Leifer is a doctoral candidate in Piano Pedagogy and Performance at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, where he is studying under the guidance of Professor John Ellis. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Piano and a Master's degree in Piano Pedagogy and Performance from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. His former teachers include Lillian Livingston and Ingrid Clarfield. In his spare time, David also maintains a small private studio of piano students.

"After graduating from Westminster Choir College of Rider University with a Bachelor of Arts in Music degree, Joseph Woodhull worked for 2 years as the Coordinator of Internet Projects for Rider University where he was instrumental in the design and maintenance of the Rider and Westminster website. He recently moved to the New York City area and took a position at Carnegie Hall as Associate Web Producer in the Marketing Department. Music will always be his true love and in his free time he composes music and performs in a band.

"I had the privilege of studying with Mrs. Clarfield as a high school student, piano camper, and college student at Westminster Choir College. She inspired me to develop my musicianship, my understanding of performance and teaching, and my love of music. I learned to become more confident not only as a pianist, but as a teacher and person. This confidence helped me tremendously as I completed my Ph.D. in Musicology at the University of Michigan. Currently, I love working as an adjunct assistant professor of music at The City College of the City University of New York, and as a visual artist exhibiting watercolor paintings nationally and internationally. My husband, Jonathan, is also a professor of music at The City College (CUNY) and a talented composer of pieces for piano, chamber ensembles, and symphony orchestras. He received a prestigious award for his compositions from the Academy of Arts and Letters. If you would like to hear his music, please visit www.myspace.com/jpieslak. Jonathan has also written a fascinating book on the music of soldiers serving in the Iraq war, Sound Targets: American Soldiers and Music in the Iraq War, which has been recently reviewed in The New Yorker and the New York Post. For more information about us, please visit our websites, www.sabinapieslak.com, and www.soundtargets.com. "

-- Sabina Pauta Pieslak

"Hello, my name is Audrey Peterbark Ross. Most know me as Audrey Peterbark however I recently got married. I am a graduate of Westminster where I received a BM (2001) and an MM (2003) in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. I now live in Burke, VA and have established myself as a new independent piano teacher in the Northern Virginia area. I have a private studio in my home where I teach 27 students. I am happy to report that my students are doing well. Not only are they playing great but I have had a few of them place in local NVMTA and WMTA competitions. In addition to teaching I am very active with our local Northern Virginia Music Teacher’s Association and am on the executive board of the Washington Music Teacher’s Association. This October I will be going to the World Piano Pedagogy Conference and participating as the chairman of a panel discussion on elementary practice tips. In March 2006 I will be playing with three other teachers as part of a special program for the Springfield Music Club."               

Hi, my name is Alicia and I am a 2003 graduate of WCC, where I received a Piano Performance & Pedagogy degree while studying with Mrs. C. Originally from near Gettysburg, PA, I now live in Long Island City, Queens with my husband and work at Carnegie Hall in their Artistic Programming department."               

" Radek Materka is a Doctoral candidate in Piano Performance at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, studying under the guidance of John Perry. He holds degrees from Westminster Choir College (B.M.), and the University of Southern California (M.M.). His teachers include John Perry, Daniel Pollack, and Ingrid Clarfield."               

"It never occured to me that my undergrad senior recital with Ingrid Clarfield and conducting teacher Frank Abrahams on either side of me on the piano bench playing some pretty crappy six hand Rachmaninoff would be the symbolic of my future career... Ming Luke currently serves as Conductor and Director of the Berkeley Symphony's Education Programs under Music Director Kent Nagano, Asst. Conductor of the Sacramento Philharmonic under Music Director Michael Morgan, General Director and Conductor of the Napa Valley Youth Symphony, and Chorus Master of the Sacramento Opera. Recognized nationally (MENC, Barbara Boxer) for his work in education, Luke serves as on the Grants and the Arts Committee of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission and is a panel member for the National Endowment of the Arts' Music and Opera Grants Panel...."               

"Anthony Bernarducci received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Westminster Choir College in his home state of New Jersey. He served for many years at Our Lady of Consolation Church as a pianist and later as the Music Director of Pilgrim Covenant Church before moving to Arizona. While working on his master’s degree he served at St. Francis De Sales as the Associate Music Director as a pianist and vocalist as well as the director of the Youth and Teen Choirs. In 2007 he received his Masters Degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Arizona. After working two years at Sahuaro High School, he has recently been appointed the director of choral music at Catalina Foothills High School as well as the Director of Music Ministries at Christ Church United Methodist. He resides with his wife Breanna in Tucson Arizona." 

My name is Heather Atagan Thorarinson. Most of you know me as Heather Atagan, but I finally got married in Calgary, Alberta to Joel Thorarinson. The wedding was wonderful and we were even more blessed to have Mrs. Clarfield stand for us as our godmother. I am a graduate of Westminster and received a Bachelor of Music (2004) and a Masters of Music (2006) in Piano Performance and Pedagogy. I now live in Plainsboro, NJ where I teach at the Westminster Conservatory and I also have a successful private studio of my own. Also, this year I will begin teaching beginning pedagogy for the Westminster Professional Development Certificate Program. Aside from teaching, I am the Assistant Director of Music at Resurrection Lutheran Church in Hamilton. In the summers I continue to teach for Mrs. Clarfield's High School Piano Camp and am also the Co-Director of Mrs. Livingston's Middle School Piano Camp.

"Ryan Brechmacher was a senior piano and composition double major at Westminster Choir College. He 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 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. He is also currently music director for the Princeton University/WCC Christian a cappella group, Kindred Spirit. As a pianist, he has given a junior recital and is planning on giving his senior recital in the spring of 2006. As a composer, Ryan's works have been premiered by WCC's Schola Cantorum as well as The Westminster Community Orchestra. In his spare time, Ryan is a singer and songwriter. He plans to record in January with a group of friends from home."               

" Dr. Shannon Hesse, pianist, has performed both nationally and internationally as a collaborative and solo pianist including a concerto premiere at the Curtis Institute of Music, a solo appearance at Weill Recital Hall, and as a choral accompanist at Carnegie Hall. Formerly on the faculty of Valdosta State University, she currently teaches piano, theory, song literature and opera workshop at Texas Southern University and is a vocal coach at Houston Baptist University. 

" Shannon completed her doctoral studies in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music from the Eastman School of Music where she studied with Dr. Jean Barr. She also holds degrees from Westminster Choir College (B.M) and The Catholic University of America (M.M.) where she studied with Ingrid Clarfield and Marilyn Neeley respectively. Additionally, she spent two summers in the collaborative artists program at the Aspen Music Festival. Shannon lives in Houston with her husband, Houston Symphony cellist Anthony Kitai, and their two adorable cats.

Ms Hyo Jung Huh hails from Seoul, Korea. She graduated in 2003 with Summa Cum Laude from the School of Music at Seoul National University where she studied piano and aesthetics. She received a Master of Music (Sacred Music and Piano Performance) degree at Westminster Choir College where she graduated with distinction, and earned a Performer's Diploma in Piano Performance at the Indiana University at Bloomington. Ms. Huh is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance degree in University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Her achievements and Awards in piano include participation in the Vienna Summer Music Festival; Rabidol Music Festival; International Keyboard Institute and Festival; PianoSummer at New Paltz. First Place Award, the World Peace Piano Competition; Second place, Korean Young Artists Competition; Bronze Medal, Hangook Ilbo(Korean News Paper) Piano Competition; The Duo Society award; First Place, The Korean Piano Society Competition; and recently UW Beethoven Competition. Ms. Huh's concert experience includes solo performances at the Seoul National University Fundraising Concert, the Kwan Ak Culture Festival, the Virtuoso Invitational Concert, the Klavier Corporation recital and the Youngsan invitational recital.

Ms. Huh studied with great teachers including Hie-yon Choi, Ingrid Clarfield, Shigeo Neriki, and Christopher Taylor. As a recipient of Kwanjeong Scholarship in Korea, her studying in USA has been fully supported over six years.

Grace Yang is a second year graduate student in the Piano Pedagogy and Performance major of Westminster Choir College. She holds a Master Degree of Music in Organ Performance from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea.

Prior to joining Westminster Choir College, Grace had 14 years experience working as Church Pianist and Organist in many churches including the largest Methodist church in the world. Grace also won the 1st Prize in Organ Performance Competition in Westminster Choir College in 1998. In summer 1995, Grace was selected as Concert Finalist Solo Performance in two international musical festivals in Geneva, Swiss and Stuttgart, Germany.

Grace currently actively involves in teaching piano in Westminster Conservatory and maintains an independent studio in Princeton, New Jersey. She is also working as part-time Church Pianist and Organist in two local churches.

Hi Everyone!  After graduating from WCC in ‘06, I moved back to the Boston area.  Since then, I’ve been happily dividing my time between teaching and accompanying.  I currently have around 40 students (ages 4 – 17), so that keeps me quite busy.  I’m enjoying both the freedom of running an independent studio out of my house and also the camaraderie of teaching at a couple community music schools.  As far as accompanying, I work with the Treble Chorus of New England, a great youth choir in my area.  I’ve also done some free-lance work with a couple singers; performing Dichterliebe last year was a highlight for me.  I’m currently collaborating with a wonderful soprano (Alison Trick), and we’re hoping to make a CD in the near future.  Long term, I’m hoping to return to school in the fall of 2009 (to study church history).  In other news, my first niece was born on August 24, 2008!  I’m loving being an aunt!

"Hello everyone! My name is Rebecca and I studied with Mrs. Clarfield during my four years at Westminster while I worked towards my B.M. in piano. Previous to my education at Westminster, I studied with Edwin Gnandt in Calgary, Canada, where I grew up. It was at the Calgary Arts Summer School Piano Camp that I first met Mrs. Clarfield, our beloved diva who wore keyboard-patterned leggings one day at the camp! After graduating from WCC, I began studying in NYC at Manhattan School of Music, where I will graduate with my M.M. in piano performance in May 2012. My current teacher is Phillip Kawin. This past summer, I was privileged to attend a summer program in Italy with Mr. Kawin through the International Academy of Music. I addition to performing, I enjoy teaching and collaborative work."

"After a few years teaching at Messiah College, I've moved on to work on a Ph. D. at Penn State.  The degree is in Music Education, and I'm specializing in Learning Theory: How do we appropriately design instruction based on how children develop and best learn?  I have only two piano students at the moment, a brother and sister, 7 & 5.  They are fun to work with, and my little guinea pigs.  I'm especially interested in designing a developmentally appropriate piano curriculum for the 5 year old, and am working on a project with a friend about this topic.  I'm also developing some ideas for an adult curriculum, as I've had quite a few students in my college classes here ask me for lessons.  To keep playing the piano, I accompany the University Choir since I don't have time to take lessons at the moment.  All in all, life is interesting! I can be contacted at laurenkooistra@gmail.com.

Amy Hughley has been teaching choral music, Advanced Placement Music Theory and International Baccalaureate Music at Riverwood High School in Atlanta, Georgia since 2002. Prior to this, she served as director of high school choirs for three years at The Wesleyan School in Norcross, Georgia. Mrs. Hughley received her Masters of Music Education from The University of Georgia and her Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Piano Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey. She was a member of the Westminster Choir under the direction of Joseph Flummerfelt for three years, where she toured to Korea, Taiwan, and France, and sang in many of the operas performed at the Spoleto USA Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. She studied piano with Ingrid Jacobson Clarfield, voice with Laura Brooks Rice, and conducting with James Jordan, Andrew Megill, Melanie Jacobson, and Allen Crowell. Mrs. Hughley also founded the Lamington Presbyterian Church children’s choir in Bedminster, New Jersey, She has led seminars on the piano music of Claude Debussy at Westminster Choir College and at the Georgia Independent Schools Association Conference. She taught High School Piano Camp at Westminster Choir College for eight summers. In the winter of 2008, her women’s ensemble at Riverwood High School was selected to perform at the Georgia Music Educator’s state convention in Savannah, Georgia.
 
Mrs. Hughley has sung and toured with the early music group Atlanta Camerata, the Atlanta Choral Artists, and the Canterbury and Compline Choirs of Saint Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta. She served as organizer for the GMEA District 5 Honor Chorus in 2004 and 2005. She currently serves as the Georgia ACDA Repertoire and Standards Chair for Men’s Choirs. In addition to her music interests, Mrs. Hughley is an avid marathon runner, and she has placed in many distance races throughout Atlanta. Mrs. Hughley lives in Decatur, Georgia with her husband Brad and her nine-month old daughter, Katharine Eve.