Henry Dickhoff is an internationally-recognized, award-winning pianist, organist, composer, and educator living in Chicago. He was born in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1995 and has lived in Florida, Colorado, and Texas. Since becoming a professional musician at age 16, Henry has played domestically all over the United States at notable venues including Dazzle (Denver), Scat Jazz Lounge (Dallas/Ft. Worth), Yoshi’s (Oakland), Hoyt Sherman Place (Des Moines), among others. Additionally, Henry has performed or given masterclasses internationally in Canada, China, and Mexico. As a classical pianist, his private teachers have included Dr. Joe Goliger, Dr. Christine Armstrong, Dr. Arsentiy Kharitonov, and Dr. Hando Nahkur. As a jazz pianist, his private teachers have included Jeff Jenkins, Michael Palma, Dan Haerle, Dr. Gabe Evens, and Pat Coil.
Henry began studying classical piano at age 8, and completed the Royal Conservatory of Music Certificate Program through Level 10. He received a number of piano awards as a child from the National Guild of Piano Teachers and the International Piano Duo Competition. Henry discovered jazz in high school and was admitted to the renowned college of music at the University of North Texas (UNT) at age 16, receiving his bachelor’s in 2016, and his master’s in 2018. While working on his master’s, he was a teaching fellow in the jazz department, giving private lessons and group coaching at UNT. As a student, he played with distinguished jazz musicians including Stefon Harris, Charles McPherson, Quamon Fowler, Brad Leali, Johnaye Kendrick, and Steve Cotter. Also while at UNT, Henry was a member of the Grammy- nominated One O’Clock Lab Band, and can be heard on the album Lab 2017. Additionally, he was the pianist for the UNT Jazz Singers, and can be heard on their latest album. This group was awarded a Downbeat Award in 2019 under the category “Large Vocal Jazz Ensemble – Graduate College Outstanding Performance”. Shortly after graduation, Henry won the 2018 West Virginia University Jazz Piano Competition, and toured the United States, Canada, and Japan for 8 months as the pianist for the World Famous Glenn Miller Orchestra.
In high school, Henry began to play the organ after receiving a scholarship from the Denver Organ Guild. He studied pipe organ privately at UNT with Dr. Andrew Lloyd, and served as the interim organist at Christ The Servant Lutheran Church of Denton, TX for the beginning of 2018. As a jazz organist, Henry released his first CD Running Start in 2013 with his Colorado-based organ trio. More recently, Henry’s co-led group Visceral Trio toured the midwestern United States during summer 2016, and released its debut EP in summer 2018. The EP includes all original compositions by Henry and guitarist Jack Roben that pay tribute to the organ trio tradition, while still including elements of modern jazz.
Outside of music, Henry enjoys learning about foreign languages and cultures. Though he is best at Spanish, he also speaks some German, Mandarin, Japanese, and French. He is an avid traveler and enjoys meeting and connecting with individuals from all over the world.