Music Ministers
Nicolas Kilhoffer
Wilson Family Sacred Music Intern
Born in 2002 in Saverne, eastern France, Nicolas Kilhoffer began studying piano at the age of seven before teaching himself the organ and serving as a church organist from the age of ten. He later studied organ performance and improvisation in Strasbourg with Daniel Maurer and Johann Vexo, who remains his principal teacher, and continued his training in Paris with Christophe Mantoux. He has also participated in masterclasses with Philippe Lefebvre, Vincent Dubois, Thierry Escaich, and Thomas Ospital.
Nicolas regularly performs in recitals in France and abroad, with appearances in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Greece, Italy, Kenya, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Recent engagements have included performances at Grace Church in New York, Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria (British Columbia), Saint Paul’s Anglican Church in Athens, and All Saints’ Cathedral in Nairobi. He also regularly performs with the Trio du Levant, an ensemble for oboe, violin, and organ, touring throughout France, Belgium, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Beginning in Fall 2026, he will pursue a Master of Music degree at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, studying with James O’Donnell, Organist Emeritus of Westminster Abbey, London. Learn more at www.nicolaskilhoffer.com
Dr. Raymond Nagem
Minister of Music
Raymond Nagem is Minister of Music at The Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City, and a member of the organ faculty at Manhattan School of Music, where he teaches organ literature, service playing, and improvisation. He completed his D.M.A. at The Juilliard School in 2016, where he was a student of Paul Jacobs.
A native of Medford, Massachusetts, Ray attended the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School and began organ lessons there with John Dunn. He earned his B.A. from Yale University in 2009, studying the organ with Thomas Murray, and his M.A. in 2011 from Juilliard. Prior to his appointment at Brick, he served for eleven years at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, where he was Associate Director of Music and Organist. His album Divine Splendor, recorded on the Great Organ of St. John the Divine, is available on the Pro Organo label.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring of 2020, Ray started a weekly online recital series, “Tuesdays at 6,” featuring a diverse range of music spanning the entire organ repertoire. In his spare time, he enjoys running, cycling, and crossword puzzles.
Liz Richter
Director of Children’s Music Ministries
Liz Richter is a musician and music educator who graduated with a Bachelor or Music from Westminster Choir College. She is the music teacher at the Brick Church School. She previously worked as the music teacher at multiple preschools on the Upper East Side. She is also the owner and director of Eastside Westside Music Together which is an early childhood music program on the Upper West Side.
Liz grew up singing in church choir from an early age where her mother was the Music Director in Garrison, NY. She has sung professionally in choirs at Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, The Kimmel Center with Orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and The Berlin Philharmonic. Once moving to NYC in 2016, she joined the professional choir at Christ Church NYC where she sang under Steve Pilkington for several years. She also was the assistant director of the children's choir at Christ Church under Amanda Smith.
Wilson Family Sacred Music Internship
Thanks to the generosity of Don and Lynn Wilson and their steadfast devotion to music at Brick, Brick Church and the Yale University Institute of Sacred Music established the Wilson Family Sacred Music Internship in 2013. This internship provides an opportunity for a graduate student at the ISM to participate in our music ministry during the academic year. As part of an intensive, on-site learning experience, the intern shares in organ playing and choral conducting duties. The program also supports an undergraduate intern from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in Ohio during their winter break in January.