Theodore Hendricks-Verdejo received his early musical training at the Escuela Libre de Musica in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. His piano teachers were Isabel Carrasquillo, Rosita Casanova and Alicia Villar-Sicardo. Upon graduating from ELM, he was awarded the Angel Ramos Antonini Award for music excellence. He was later granted a scholarship by the Angel Ramos Foundation for piano studies in the continental USA. Studies continued at the Peabody Conservatory of Music under Ellen Mack Senofsky, where Mr. Hendricks obtained B.M. and M.M. degrees in performance. As a winner of the Peabody Concerto Competition, his performance of Beethoven’s Concerto in C Major was broadcast on radio. He pursued post-graduate studies at Temple University in Philadelphia with internationally renowned pianist Natalie Hinderas.
Theodore Hendricks-Verdejo has appeared in the continental USA, Japan and the Caribbean as soloist and chamber musician, in live concerts and on radio and television broadcasts. He came to the attention of the Instituto de Puerto Rico in New York City, following a successful performance in Trinidad and Tobago, attended by Puerto Rico’s cultural attaché. The Institute recognized him with their Premio de Musica, an award given to some of the island’s most distinguished musicians.
Mr. Hendricks-Verdejo was a member of the piano staff at Settlement Music School of Philadelphia for fifteen years, where he coached Piano Ensemble and taught private lessons. He taught music to children at International School of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo, Japan from 1995 to 2002. Currently he is a music faculty member in the Westfield, New Jersey School System.