Walker Studio

Richard Fitzgerald, DMA

Richard K. Fitzgerald is currently pursuing the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Organ Performance at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, where he is a student of John Walker. Richard has been awarded a graduate assistantship in the Department of Music Theory at Peabody where he assists composer Dr. Joel Puckett. Richard earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Sacred Music from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, New Jersey and his Master of Music degree in Organ Performance from the Peabody Conservatory. From 2003 to 2007, Richard served as the Assistant Director of Music of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC. In March 2008, Richard made a debut appearance on Pipedreams in a program entitled The American Muse. An accomplished composer, Richard has published choral works with GIA Publications, Inc., Chicago, Illinois. His compositions appear in the Evoking Sound Choral Series, James Jordan, Editor. He has received commissions and his work has earned him favorable reviews in such periodicals as The Hymn, Choir and Organ, Pastoral Music, and The American Organist. Richard currently serves Saint Bernadette Church in Silver Spring, MD as Director of Music and Organist where he oversees a semi-professional program of liturgical music.

Charles (Tedde) Gibson, BM

Mary Maldarelli, Organ Minor

John Meyers, MM

John Meyers is a native of Hamburg, New York, a suburb of Buffalo.  Upon the completion of his undergraduate degree from Duquesne University, where he studied organ with Dr. Ann Labounsky, John received the Jean Langlais Award for Excellence in Sacred Music.  John currently studies with Dr. John Walker and serves as Music Director at Ascension Catholic Church in Bowie, Maryland.  He would like to thank Mrs. Mary Lou Bauer for establishing the Donald S. Sutherland Endowed Organ Scholarship and the Anonymous Donor for establishing the Alma D. Hunt/VCM Endowed Scholarship at Peabody.

Lizao Wang, GPD 2

Born in China on June 3, 1989, Lizao Wang started playing the piano at age of 4. She began her professional musical training at 12 years old when she entered Affiliated Middle School of Wuhan Conservatory of Music. From 2007-2011, she received her college education at Shanghai Conservatory of Music, where she studied electronic organ under Lei Zhu, Dean of the Modern Instrument Department. During her college study, she received “People’s Scholarships” three times. In August 2010 she won the third prize in the adult group and the Chinese Work Performance Prize in the 2010 national “Ringway” electronic organ competition. 

After receiving her Bachelor of Music degree in 2011, she came to America to pursue the study of Pipe Organ with Dr. John Walker in Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where she received the Milton H. Miller, Sr. Endowed Scholarship in Organ. She is currently enrolled in the Graduate Performance Diploma program. She is organist at Lock Raven United Methodist Church, Baltimore.