Sutherland Studio

Theodore Bickish, Jr., MM

Ted is currently pursing a Master of Music in organ performance at Peabody Conservatory, studying under Donald Sutherland. He is a recent graduate of Westminster Choir College, in Princeton, NJ. There, he received his bachelors degree in organ performance studying with Ken Cowan and Alan Morrison, respectively. Singing in Westminster's Symphonic Choir, Ted performed in Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kimmel Center. As an organist he has played concerts along the eastern U.S., Canada, and Hungary. This past summer, Ted attended the Crescendo Summer Institute for the Arts in Sarospatak, Hungary. There he studied repertoire and improvisation with Lazslo Fassang. In past summers, Ted attended the Mount Royal College Organ Academy International Summer School in Calgary, Canada several times.

Ted has served at churches in Braddock Heights, Md, Toms River, NJ, and Philadelphia, Pa. Currently, he is the Music Director at Christ Church (Episcopal), in Ridley Park, Pa. Here, he over sees the music program, directs the Adult Choir, plays organ for Sunday services, and has just restarted the Junior Choir. Originally from Clarksburg, Maryland, Ted has also lived in West Virginia and Florida. His previous organ teachers have been Peabody alum C. Randall Williams,and James W. Loeffler. He has also studied harpsichord with Dr. Kathleen Scheide and voice with Devin Mariman.

Adam Brakel, GPD2

Adam J. Brakel has been described as "an absolute organ prodigy, with the technique and virtuosity that most concert pianists could only dream of, and of having the potential to be the leading organist of his generation, all while being nicknamed The Franz Liszt of the Organ" (Florida NPR). "The most exciting player to enter the scene in a very long time" (Rebecca Rollet- Pittsburgh Camerata). "One of his country's outstanding talents in classical organ music…not just possessing virtuosity, but a mature empathy remarkable in so young a performer" (The Sequencer, United Kingdom). "He is to be commended for his devotion to the art of performance, and to music itself" (Dame Gillian Weir). Mr. Brakel is Director of Music/Organist at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He is one of the youngest music directors appointed to a cathedral, at age 25. He is also the diocesan organist for the Diocese of Palm Beach.

Mr. Brakel credits much of his success in improvisation and theory to Mr. Jerry Lucarelli, with whom he studied in his early years. As a junior in high school, he was awarded an American Guild of Organists' Scholarship through the Pittsburgh Chapter for study, and worked the Dr. William Lindberg. Upon entering Duquesne University, he began his studies with Dr. John Walker and Dr. David Craighead. He studied harpsichord with Rebecca Rollett, and gained solo and chamber music experience.

In Pennsylvania, he served as organist at Homestead United Presbyterian Church and later became the associate organist at St. Paul Roman Catholic Cathedral in Pittsburgh. He was also featured several times per week on the Catholic television station in Pittsburgh for daily masses. Brakel was also taped for the national organ radio show Pipedreams as a competitor during the Carlene Neihart Organ Competition. Winning several competitions, he has been called "...a player of impeccable technique and possessing a huge repertoire for such a young age." (Rebecca Rollett-Pittsburgh Camerata). He has performed throughout the United States including Connecticut, Colorado, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida, Kansas, Maryland, New York, West Virginia, and Illinois. He has worked with musicians from the Pittsburgh Symphony, Peabody Concert Orchestra, New York City Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and the River City Brass Band.

In collaborative piano, Mr. Brakel has worked with the Duquesne University Choirs, numerous ensembles, and has accompanied for Diocesan hymn and chorale festivals featuring hundreds of musicians. He is a prizewinner in several national and international organ competitions including: The Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition, The Reuter/Augustana Arts Undergraduate Organ Competition, the Gruenstein Memorial Organ Competition, the John Rodland Memorial Scholarship Competition, the French Organ Music Seminar Competition, and the Carlene Neihart International Organ Competition. He has been selected every time as the audience prize-winner at every competition it was offered. He was also past winner of the Keynotes for Music Scholarship Competition in Mt. Lebanon, Pa. He was the first organist ever honored in this competition, as well as winning the top prize.

In 2006, Mr. Brakel graduated from Duquesne University Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Organ Performance/Sacred Music and was awarded the Andre Marchal Award for Excellence in Performance. He then continued his studies at the Juilliard School. While there, he received the John Dexter Bush Scholarship and the Alice Tully Award. In New York, he premiered a work by composer Michael Gilbertson. He became the assistant organist at The Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on Park Avenue, and performed recitals at St. Patrick's Cathedral, St. Ignatius Loyola, and Central Synagogue. In September of 2007, he continued his Masters Degree at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University under the guidance of Donald S. Sutherland where he was awarded the deCourt prize in organ. Brakel continued his studies at Peabody and is completing the graduate performance diploma on full scholarship.

Between degree programs, Adam was appointed Organist at the Cathedral of St. Ignatius Loyola in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. While at Peabody, Mr. Brakel became principal organist at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Parish in Bethesda, Maryland. In 2008, he received three named scholarships at Peabody. He was a guest assisting organist at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. Recently he performed the complete organ works of Cesar Franck at Peabody for his Master's degree as well as many of his works at the National Shrine as part of their 2009 Summer Organ Festival. He was invited through the "Oundle for Organists" festival to study and perform in Toulouse, France in 2008. In 2009 as the "Oundle Award Winner," he performed in England at the Albert Hall Nottingham, Oxford Town Hall, and Hexham Abbey. In 2010, he will return to perform at St. Paul's Cathedral in London as well as various other venues.

Theodore S. (Ted) Davis, DMA

Theodore S. (Ted) Davis a native of Birmingham, Ala., completed his degree from Birmingham-Southern College with a major in organ performance, followed by a master's degree in choral conducting from Northwestern University (where he also studied organ with with Richard Enright and Wolfgang Rübsam). 

In addition to a number of solo concerts around the mid-Atlantic region, Massachusetts, and Alabama, he has been an organ recitalist for the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C., and for the Miami chapter of the American Guild of Organists. In 1997, he was one of three organists to be featured in an Alumni Recital Series at Birmingham-Southern College. He has achieved national recognition in organ-playing competitions and is an active composer with works printed by two publishers. Other musical interests have led to studies in a capella vocal music with the Western Wind of New York, as well as studies in vocal and instrumental music with the medieval and renaissance consort Sirinu of England, and baroque ensembles The Parley of Instruments, also of England, and Tafelmusik of Toronto.

After a 15-year career as a full-time church musician, mostly in Richmond, Va., Davis was invited to be a candidate for the Artist Diploma at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Mass., where he studied harpsichord and early music (vocal and instrumental ensembles). Instructors at Longy included Frances Fitch (harpsichord), Peter Sykes (harpsichord, organ, and other historic keyboard), and Jeffrey Rink (conducting). While in the Boston area, he served as organist and choirmaster at University Lutheran Church in Cambridge, where he instituted a quarterly series of Bach Cantata performances, as well as a concert series to benefit the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter. He performed as a soloist in such venues as the Irish Room at Boston College and Harvard University's Busch Hall, which houses the famed "E. Power Biggs" Flentrop organ. He has served as assistant to the music director for operatic productions at the Boston Early Music Festival and the Amherst Early Music Festival.

Davis is now based in Baltimore. He is organist and choirmaster at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, where he has overseen the installation of a 47-rank Casavant/Storey organ, revitalized a vibrant choral program for children and adults, and instituted a music events series that now includes two choral evensongs annually, as well as two choral concerts with chamber orchestra. He continues to perform regularly as a conductor as well as an organist and harpsichordist, both as a soloist and with ensembles.

Roderick Carlton Demmings Jr.

A freshman of the Peabody Conservatory and Homewood Campus of the Johns Hopkins University, Roderick C. Demmings Jr. is a part of the Double Degree Program majoring in organ and English. A native of Dallas, Demmings prides himself on being an individual extenuated from many different, diverse communities.

During the summers of 2005 and 2006, Demmings attended the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp in northern Michigan. In the fall of 2006, Demmings participated in a live TV recording of “From the Top:” Live from Carnegie Hall in New York City; a nationally syndicated, 13-part series featured on PBS.

Beginning in the summer of 2009, Demmings attended the New York Summer Musical Festival, where he studied piano performance, musical literature, and music theory. Demmings has returned every summer since that time. A frequent performer, both locally and nationally, Demmings continues to perform on major venues including the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Fair Park Music Hall, and the Verizon Center in Philadelphia.

Felix Hell, DMA

German concert organist Felix Hell is a phenomenon in several ways. Hailed as the "most well known young concert organist worldwide" (Dr. John Weaver), and "undoubtedly one of the major talents of the century" (Dr. Frederick Swann, AGO president), he "sets standards that many established and honoured older players would struggle to equal" (Michael Barone in The American Organist).

Felix has had an active concert career since the age of nine and has already performed more than 650 recitals throughout his native Germany, as well as Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Korea, Latvia, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Russia, and the USA, where he performed more than 450 recitals in 44 states.

At the age of 21, Felix Hell received global recognition for his performances of the entire organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach in three full cycles, presenting roughly 250 works, totalling close to 20 hours of performance time in each of them. Furthermore, he has performed the complete organ works of Felix Mendelssohn in New York City, commemorating the composer's 200th birthday.

Felix Hell has been soloist with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, the National Academy Orchestra of Canada, the McGill Chamber Orchestra, the New England Conservatory Philharmony, the Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra, the Deutsche Streicherphilharmonie, the Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester, the Pfalztheaterorchester Kaiserslautern, and the Jacksonville Symphony. In November of 2004, Felix gave his debut performance in the famous Boston Symphony Hall.

Felix Hell was born in 1985 in Frankenthal/Pfalz, Germany. He took his first piano lesson at the age of seven, followed by his first organ lesson six months later. At age 11, Mr. Hell continued his studies at the Hochschule für Kirchenmusik in Heidelberg, studying with Johannes Michel and with Christiane Michel-Ostertun. During this period, he was also coached by Professors Martin Lücker, Frankfurt; Pieter van Dijk, Amsterdam; Oleg Yantchenko, Moscow; Wolfgang Rübsam, Saarbrücken; Leo Krümer, Speyer; Franz Lehrndorfer, Munich; and Robert Griffith, Delaware/Ohio.

In September 1999, Felix Hell enrolled at The Juilliard School in New York. Two years later, Mr. Hell was admitted to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where he studied with Dr. John Weaver. While at Curtis, he received valuable impulses through coachings and masterclasses with Professors Martin Jean, Marie-Claire Alain, Joan Lippincott and Gillian Weir. In May of 2004, Felix Hell received his Bachelor of Music degree, making him—at the age of 18—the youngest organ major ever to graduate from this prestigious institute. Felix Hell pursued his graduate studies under the guidance of Professor Donald Sutherland at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, where he received his Artist Diploma degree in May of 2007 and his Master of Music degree in 2008. In 2009, Felix Hell was awarded Johns Hopkins University's prestigious Outstanding Recent Graduate Award. Currently, Mr. Hell is enrolled in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at Peabody. Since 1999, Felix Hell has consistently received merit-based full tuition scholarships for his entire studies.

Felix Hell is member of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, the German Gesellschaft der Orgelfreunde, and the Organ Society of Sydney. He is Organ Artist Associate at St. Peter's Lutheran Church in Manhattan, as well as Distinguished Organist in Residence at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA. In 2007, Mr. Hell was appointed as Adjunct Professor for Organ at the Sunderman Conservatory in Gettysburg, PA.

Felix Hell's discography includes eight CDs, encompassing an organ repertoire of five centuries. All of his recordings have been critically acclaimed by the public as well as by experts. His music is frequently broadcast on radio stations throughout the United States, including Pipedreams of Minnesota Public Radio, as well as by radio stations in Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, and by the BBC. He was featured on TV at ABC and NBC, and the German TV stations ARD, ZDF, SWR, RTL, DW, SAT1, and 3SAT.

For more information about Felix Hell, please visit www.felixhell.com.

David Kelley, DMA5 (DIP)

David Kelley holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Theory from Furman University and two master’s degrees from The Catholic University of America, in Liturgical Music and Composition. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in Organ Performance from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, as a student of the eminent performer and pedagogue Donald Sutherland.

Active in the American Guild of Organists, David recently completed a term as Dean of the Delaware Chapter. He holds professional certificates from the Guild at the Associate and Choirmaster levels, and won the 2004 Choirmaster certification prize. David has presented workshops for the Delaware and Philadelphia chapters of the AGO, and currently serves on the Regional Nominating Committee for the Guild’s mid-Atlantic region.

David has several publications to his credit. His article “Style and Substance in the Evaluation of the Solo Organ Works of John Stainer” appeared in the November 2007 issue of The American Organist, and his interview with composer Craig Phillips was featured in the June 2009 issue of The Diapason. His compositions are included in The Crowning Glory, a collection of hymn descants; and the Delaware Organ Book, a collection of solo organ works by Delaware composers.

David has worked as an organist and choirmaster for more than fifteen years, for churches of most major denominations. Since 2000, David has worked as Director of Music at Concordia Lutheran Church in Wilmington, Delaware. He serves on the faculty of the King’s College Summer Training Course in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Royal School of Church Music in America, and is Assistant Conductor of CoroAllegro, Delaware’s premier chamber choir.

Grace EunHye Kim, GPD 1

Grace began studying piano at age 4 and won several piano competitions in her native South Korea. She also won the National High School organ competition a mere eight months after she began studying organ at age 18. She went on to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree on full scholarship at Keimyung University, where she earned the degree in three years and graduated Valedictorian. She earned Master of Music degree in organ performance at Westminster Choir College where she studied with Ken Cowan. She worked at St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City as Organist Intern.

Grace spent her sophomore year in the United States studying organ with Stefan Engels. While still an undergraduate she took part in several competitions in Korea, winning third prize in the Young-San National Organ Competition and third prize in the Music Association of Korea's organ competition among others. In the U.S., she has won second place in the Joan Lippincott Organ Competition, she was a semi-finalist in the Jordan International Organ Competition, and earned an Honorable Mention in the Miami International Organ Competition.

Grace's academic background outside of music shows a wide variety of interests and a range of accomplishment including her having won the Secretary of Science Award as well as a High School Web Design Competition. She attended Daegu Foreign language High School, well known in South Korea as it accepts only the top three percent of applicants. Grace is an avid traveler and has taken backpacking trips to over forty countries. In her spare time, she writes poetry and loves to draw.

Jung-yeon Kim,GPD1

Jung-yeon Kim received her Bachelor and Master's degree in Organ Performance from Ewha Womans University in Korea, where she sutudied with Dr. Hee-sung Kim. While studying in Korea, she performed in many concerts and had the experience to accompany opera with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. For the past two years,  Jung-yeon has worked to complete her master's degree pursuing her second master's degree under the superb teaching   of  Dr. John Walker. She happily begins her GPD in the studio of Donald Sutherland. She currently serves as organist at the Chuch of the Annunciation in Baltimore, and also at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption in Baltimore, Maryland.

Gi-Young Kim, DMA5(DIP)

Gi-Young Kim is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in the studio of Donald Sutherland.  She was a recipient of the Dorothy de Court prize, the Peabody merit scholarship and numerous other scholarships while she was in the Graduate Performance Diploma program. She was also awarded a graduate assistantship in 2008.  Ms. Kim completed her Master of Music degree in Organ Performance at the Peabody Conservatory and received her Bachelor’s degree in Organ Performance from George Mason University in Virginia where she studied with William Neil.

While pursuing her academic endeavors, Ms. Kim served as choirmaster at Holy Kingdom Methodist Church for nine years and as organist at Arlington Presbyterian Church from 1996-2003 under the direction of Gisele Becker. She also served as Director of Music Ministries at the Korean Presbyterian Church of Washington.  Ms. Kim has appeared frequently in concerts with the Washington Soloists Ensemble throughout the Baltimore and Washington DC region.  As a featured artist, she was sponsored by KCBTV with performances in Honolulu, Hawaii in 2004.  One of Ms. Kim’s live performances was featured on the CD collection in celebration of Peabody’s 150th anniversary in 2007.  In addition, she has also been featured as soloist at Arlington Presbyterian Church in Virginia, and as soloist for the Grace Methodist Church French Organ Marathon in Baltimore.

Sujin Matthews DMA8 (DIP)

After receiving her Bachelor’s degree in her native Korea, Ms. Matthews continued her education, receiving a Master’s degree in organ performance from Towson University.   Upon graduation, she moved to Hawaii to pursue graduate studies in Music Theory at the University of Hawaii during her father’s chaplain duties at Hickam Air Force Base.  After returning to Maryland, she continued her theorectical studies at Peabody Conservatory and received a second Master’s degree in Theory Pedagogy where she studied with Dr. Thomas Benjamin.  She is currently in the prestigious DMA program at the Peabody Conservatory in the studio of Donald Sutherland.  She has served as a graduate assistant in theory and was the recipient of the Rodney Hansen Memorial Scholarship in the “High Standard of Excellence” and the Dorothy deCourt Prize.  Academically gifted, she was invited to join Pi Kappa Lambda.

As a performer, Ms. Matthews' schedule is filled with recitals, both in collaboration with other organists and as a soloist.  She has performed regionally, has taken place in the renowned French organ music marathon in Baltimore and has appeared in master classes including one in the Region III AGO Convention with Naji Hakim. She has attended international organ academies in Germany, Sweden, Canada and France participating in classes of Marie-Claire Alain, Olivier Latry, Jon Laukvik, Ludger Lohmann, Jacques van Oortmerssen and Gillian Weir.

Sujin became involved in church music while working at Air Force Chapels in both the Protestant and Catholic worship settings.  After residing in Southern Maryland for several years during which she served as organist/choir director in Presbyterian churches, she moved to North Carolina at the end of 2008 to be nearer to her family. During the transition settling in a new home, she took a short term interim position at White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh and is taking the opportunity to play various organs in the area as a guest organist while preparing for her lecture document.

As a dog lover, she was impressed and envious of being able to take one's beloved pets into restaurants and other public places in Europe.  Losing her beloved companion LuLu (a terrier-poodle mix) after 8 years, Sujin adopted a 5-year-old miniature Schnauzer from NC Schnauzer Rescue on Good Friday 2009.  Gracie started her life as a commercial breeding mother and then was found as a stray in the middle of a 4-lane highway.  Thanks to a Good Samaritan who stopped the traffic to rescue her, she now is making a forever home with Sujin enjoying her new life.

Kaori Hongo Moyer DMA7 (DIP)

Kaori Hongo received her Bachelor of Music degree in Church Music (organ and Piano) from Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where she studied with Donald McDonald (organ) and Ena Barton (piano). In 1990, she was the winner of the Alexander McCurdy Award.

Ms. Hongo holds a Master's degree in Organ Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, where she studied with Donald Sutherland. During this time, she was the recipient of the Richard Franko Goldman Prize (1996-'97) and the Dorothy decourt Prize (1997-'98).

After completing her Master's degree, she attended the Rueil-Malmaison Conservatoire in France, where she studied with Susan Landale, and received the Duexieme Prix de Niveau Superieur in 1999. She then returned to her native Japan, where she was invited to be the conductor and founder of several choirs, as well as teaching organ and piano.

Ms. Hongo is a student in the prestigious Doctoral program at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where she continues studies with Donald Sutherland. Her busy schedule includes being the Music Director of the Church of the Advent in Federal Hill, and assistant conductor of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute Choral Society. She regularly collaborates in recital, and continues her solo career as well. She has performed many solo recitals in Japan, the United States and France.

Kaori has attended several summer organ programs which include the McGill Organ Festivfal in Montreal and the Summer Organ Academy at the Hochschule fûr Musik in Leipzig. She has also particpated in masterclasses by Marie-Claire Alain, Olivier Latry, Joan Lippincott, and Donald Sutherland.

Ms. Hongo currently holds the Graduate Assistantship in Choral Conducting.

Kaori is happily married to fellow organist Jonathan Moyer, and they have settled in the Cleveland area, where they are raising their two small sons.  In her spare time (ha!), she likes to read and write and enjoys crocheting little gifts for others. She loves animals and have adopted a beautiful cat who helps with the children.  She has just received a book of Japanese calligraphy and is looking forward to improving skills in this area as well. Her dreams are to have a balanced life of music and family!

Song Yi Park, GPD2

Song Yi Park (CAGO) is enrolled in the second year of study toward the Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where she is an organ student of Donald Sutherland.  She earned the Master of Sacred Music degree in Organ Performance at Boston University, where she was a student of Peter Sykes.  She also holds an undergraduate degree in Choral Conducting and Sacred Music from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. Currently Song Yi Park serves as an organist at Loch Raven United Methodist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.

Victor Li, BM2

Victor Li currently studies organ performance with Donald Sutherland at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. Originally from Singapore, he previously studied with Evelyn Lim at the Methodist School of Music. Victor is also a dual-degree student at the Johns Hopkins University, where he reads applied mathematics. Academic interests range from early and 21st century music to poetry and stochastic processes.

Sarah Jane E. Starcher, BM

Sarah Jane Starcher is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Organ performance at the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University, where she is studies with Donald Sutherland. Prior to beginning her undergraduate studies, Sarah Jane studied organ with David Enlow in New York City. Originally from New Jersey, Sarah Jane held a position as organist and choirmaster at St. Rose Church in Oxford, NJ for several years, during which time she developed a choral program at the church. She also possesses an extensive choral background, having sung in church choirs for many years.