Christopher Schroeder
Minister of Music/Organist
Christopher Schroeder
Minister of Music/Organist
Chris Schroeder’s devotion to music as ministry makes the entire music program at Grace so relevant. His knowledge base and attention to each musical element in worship create an experience so much deeper than what we might perceive through spoken words alone.
Chris became Grace Church’s Minister of Music and Organist in November of 2013, continuing the great music ministry established by his predecessor and friend, Mr. Bruce Eicher. Chris had previously been at Towson Presbyterian Church, his first church job in the state of Maryland. Before moving to Baltimore, Chris spent his prior years in Indiana, his home state. Chris grew up in a very musical family on a dairy farm in Rushville, Indiana when he remembers hearing his Dad’s booming bass voice singing at weddings and funerals. Throughout his childhood, Chris watched his Mother play organ for the weekly Mass at our local Catholic Church. After beginning piano lessons in 3rd grade, Chris began to play organ for church services, both Catholic and Protestant, during his high school years and took organ lessons at Earlham College in Richmond, IN. In adulthood, Chris always maintained a weekend church job while working during the week in various professions, including work as a social worker for the State of Indiana and later as an accountant for the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library. In 2001, Chris began work on a Masters Degree in Church Music and Organ Performance at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. His intention with this degree was to find full time employment as a church musician. While at Indiana University, Chris studied with some phenomenal musicians, including his organ teacher, Dr. Marilyn Keiser, a world-renowned organist and church musician. Upon completion of his degree, Chris began searching for full time employment, which eventually lead him to Baltimore. Chris appreciates being on the East Coast where he has made some great friends and colleagues and has found many opportunities to play and perform. Though he misses his large extended family and Indiana friends, Chris was able to be with his family this past July, where three generations of Schroeder’s gathered to visit once again. Chris loves his work at Grace Church, supported by talented soloists, choir members and church members, and collaborating with clergy and staff on meaningful worship experiences. Chris also appreciates the diversity and openness to all that Grace Church expresses throughout each of its ministry. When not working on musical things, Chris enjoys a good run or a long bike ride through the great trails around the DC area, a quick trip to see the ocean at Rehoboth Beach, playing cards (Euchre, Double Pinocle) online or in-person with friends and appreciates good company with friends over a shared meal.
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David Brock
Associate Organist
David Brock
Associate Organist
David C. Brock, a native of Georgia, began his church music career at age 11 when he became the principal pianist and then organist at his United Methodist parish church. While attending Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1973, David studied organ privately with music department faculty and was organist for the Glee Club and Women's Chorale for the 1972 Festival of Lessons and Carols. He continued to commute on weekends in order to play at his home church each Sunday.
Following graduation, David was accepted into the Ph.D. program at the Johns Hopkins University and moved to Baltimore. He began attending the A.W. Wilson Memorial church, sang in the choir, and studied organ privately with the music director, Theodore J. Talbert.
In 1977, at the request of SPRC, he became the organist and choir director of the Wilson Memorial church, a position he held until the merger with Grace Church in 1996. David served on many committees at Wilson Memorial, including a number of years as chair of the Administrative Board, a position that he held at the time of the merger with Grace in 1996. When the longtime organist of Grace church, Bruce R. Eicher, requested additional vacation time to pursue travels, David was engaged to be associate organist to fill in for 16 weeks each year. Following Mr. Eicher's retirement, David continued as associate organist under the direction of Christopher Schroeder, minister of music. The position was changed to a focus on accompanying choir anthems, playing for rehearsals, and directing the chancel choir as needed.
In addition to the B.A. degree from Emory, David also earned a M.S. degree from Johns Hopkins, as well as a master's equivalency from Hopkins in history and education. He retired from the Baltimore City Public Schools in 2004 following a 30 year career in the classroom and central office administration. While at Grace, David has served on the Trustees and chaired the Worship Committee and the Administrative Board.
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Natalie Conte
Soprano Soloist/Section Leader
Natalie Conte
Soprano Soloist/Section Leader
Described as “magnanimous and powerful”, soprano Natalie Conte is an award winning performer of opera, art song, and oratorio. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2018 singing the soprano solo in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. She won first prize in the National Federation of Music Clubs’ Young Artist Competition, which featured her as a recitalist across the country. She also won the Maryland Lyric Opera Competition, after which she worked with Aprile Millo. Additionally, she won the Vocal Arts D.C. Discovery Art Song Competition which featured her as a recitalist throughout Washington D.C. in such venues as the Kennedy Center and the Phillips Collection. An avid believer in bringing great music to one’s own community, she has sung in works with the IN Series, the Lyric Opera of Baltimore, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Bay Atlantic Symphony, New Dominion Chorale, and the Russian Chamber Art Society, among others. Beyond the local stage, Natalie has performed in her hometown Detroit, Michigan as well as internationally in Rome, St. Petersburg, and Moscow. Natalie serves on the voice faculty at Shenandoah Conservatory and Towson University. She has performed as a member of the ensemble with both the Washington National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. She looks forward to performing The Four Last Songs in recital in Washington, D.C. in 2023. Natalie and her family recently moved back to Baltimore after a nine-year absence. Her husband is also a singer and their child attends preschool here at Grace. We are thankful to be a part of the Grace Church and greater Baltimore community.
Patricia Hengen-Shields
Contralto Soloist/Section Leader
Patricia Hengen-Shields
Contralto Soloist/Section Leader
Patricia Hengen-Shields is a graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory and the Baltimore School for the Arts. She was most recently seen in Annapolis Opera’s productions of Faust, South Pacific, Madama Butterfly, and will be a soloist in their production of Little Women this Fall. This year, Patricia became a member of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society. Other recent stage appearances include Hairspray: In Concert with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Le Prince Charmant in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Emma Carew in Jekyll & Hyde. Ms. Hengen has been a soloist with the City Choir of Washington and the Central Maryland Chorale, and has won various awards in the NATS Competition in Maryland, Virginia, and the Mid-Atlantic region.
Carly Baron
Carly Baron
Carly Baron, soprano, has just graduated in May with her D.M.A. in Classical Voice Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory. A passionate advocate of involving youth in opera, Carly's doctoral research provides a technical analysis and practical guide for industry professionals on how to effectively perform opera for young audiences. Within the world of children's opera, she has collaborated with English Touring Opera to produce and perform the U.S. premiere of Back into the World; sang in the U.S. premiere production of Pacamambo with Philadelphia's Live/Wire Opera Company; and presented The Vagabond Queen, a one-woman opera, within her lecture recital. In addition to standard operatic repertoire, Carly loves new music and working with contemporary composers. She has debuted roles within new chamber operas, premiered concert works and festival projects, and performed with the Edge Ensemble in their Pulitzer Prize Composer Festival and new music concert series. Carly, originally from New York, received her B.A. from Muhlenberg College and M.M. from Temple University. Along with performing, Carly teaches as an adjunct voice instructor at Shenandoah Conservatory and maintains an active private voice and piano studio. She is recently married, new to Baltimore, and delighted to be joining the Grace United Methodist Church community this year!
Mathew Price
Mathew Price
Mathew Passarelli Price is a Baritone based in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area. He is a recent graduate of Towson University where he earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education. Mathew plans to continue his education studying a Masters of Science in Music in Music Education at Towson University in Fall 2023.
Hakeem Henderson
Tenor Soloist
Hakeem Henderson
Tenor Soloist
Hakeem Henderson is a performer whose repertoire ranges from Classical to Contemporary
works.
Hakeem Henderson performed the roles of 'Don Curzio' (Le Nozze Di Figaro), 'Fortunato'
(The Cask of Amontillado), 'Beppe' (I Pagliacci, Act I), 'Spoletta' (Tosca, Act II),
'Street Chorus' (MASS), 'Rapunzel's Prince' (Into the Woods) and 'Big Deal' in the 2019
Edinburgh International Festival’s Production of West Side Story.
Henderson has performed concert works such as Elgar Coronation Ode, Mozart Coronation
Mass, Dvorak Stabat Mater, Bach Cantata BWV 124, Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio, and
Lokumbe Healing Tones.
Mr. Henderson won the 3rd Place Winner and the Audience Favorite Award of the Boulder Bach
Festival’s 2020 World Bach Competition, the 2016 CAAPA Scholarship recipient, a Finalist in
the 2022 Joyce and Michael Kennedy Award for the Singing of Strauss Competition, and a
Finalist in the 2nd Annual Williams Howard Competition.
In 2021, Henderson received his bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance at Morgan State
University under Dr. Lester Green and that same year, He was awarded a scholarship from
Waverley Fund Scholarships to study at the Royal Northern College of Music. Most recently,
Henderson performed as a part of the 2022 Buxton Festival Young Artist Programme.
In December 2023, Hakeem Henderson will be receiving his Master's in Performance at the
Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester. He studied under baritone, Michael
Harper and tenor, Thomas Schulze.