24-25 Program Book - Flipbook - Page 26
Gretchen Dekker
PIANO
Born and raised in Central Pennsylvania, Gretchen
(Elicker) Dekker began her formal music training at
the piano locally and continued her studies at the
Peabody Preparatory School in Baltimore. Following
her graduation from Northeastern High School, she
entered the Peabody Conservatory and graduated
with honors.
Pursuing a strong interest in the harpsichord,
she auditioned for and was accepted by Gustav
Leonhardt as one of four pupils in his international
class. During her time of residence in Amsterdam,
she studied both harpsichord and organ and
performed recitals throughout The Netherlands,
France, and Belgium.
Since receiving a Master of Music degree with high academic honors and special
recognition for distinction in performance from the New England Conservatory of
Music, Gretchen has concertized as both a soloist and collaborative artist in the
mid-Atlantic region. She has been featured as a concerto soloist with the York
Symphony Orchestra, the Harrisburg Symphony, the York College Symphony
Orchestra, and the Hershey Symphony, among others.
Continuing a long career in church music serving a wide variety of denominations,
Gretchen has since 2020 been the Music Director of the Unitarian Universalist
Congregation of York. As the current president of the York Music Teachers
Association, a member of the York Symphony Orchestra Education Committee,
the board of the Matinee Musical Club of York, and a past board member of the
York County Honors Choirs, she is a passionate active advocate for arts and arts
education in the region.
Since 1998, Dekker has been an adjunct professor of piano, harpsichord, early
music history, and aural theory as well as a staff accompanist at York College
of Pennsylvania. In 2012, she co-founded the YCPrep Community Music School,
which is based at York College and offers pre- and post-collegiate studio music
instruction and performance opportunities in all disciplines.
Gretchen maintains a robust private piano studio while still finding time to enjoy
cooking, reading, and aerobic ornamental gardening on a small farm in Northern
York County with her Dutch husband and cats.
26 CLASSICAL SERIES STAR WARS AND THE PLANETS
