Music Ministry Staff

Leah Inger

Soprano Soloist/Section Leader

Leah has been praised by The Baltimore Sun for her “bright, flexible soprano” and “bell-like voice”. A versatile artist, her career spans opera, oratorio, chamber music, new music, musical theater and cabaret. She continues her studies with Elizabeth Daniels, recognized as one of Washington, D.C.’s outstanding teachers of vocal technique. In addition, she teaches at Roland Park Country School, Notre Dame of Maryland University, and Towson University.

Leah has performed numerous operatic roles locally, and she has made concert appearances with the Bay Atlantic Symphony, Southern Delaware Chorale, Deer Creek Chorale, Danbury Music Center, Annapolis Chorale and Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. Her interest in music of our time has also led Leah to multiple appearances with the Evolution Contemporary Music Series, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and at the Symphony Space in New York City.

A native of Tennessee, Leah holds degrees from Georgetown College, Towson University, and Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Phyllis Bryn-Julson. She currently sings with the Washington National Opera Chorus in addition to her new role at Grace Church, her teaching positions, various engagements as solo artist and mother to daughter Sabina, son Felix, and cat Rudolph.

Jennifer Tzu-Jung Wang

Mezzo Soprano Soloist/Section Leader

Taiwanese Soprano, Tzu-Jung Wang is passionate about collaborating with other artists, leaning different perspectives to make a thorough interpretation of the music. She has been featured in Isolation, a pastiche project presented by the Peabody Opera Theatre, as well as CloClo in Lehár’s Die lustige Witwe at Tunghai University. She has performed with companies including Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, Taichung Artist Chamber Choir, and Tunghai University Chorus and Chamber Choir. In scenes productions, she has performed the roles of Susanna and Barbarina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Bastienne in Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne, and Sandman in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.

Artists sometimes too focus on their mistakes, and forget to live in the moment, this inspired Tzu-Jung to create a recital Perfectly Imperfect in 2019. She believed what makes music beautiful or even moving is those moments of humanity which form a connection between the audience and the artist. The repertoire included works by Mozart, Barber, Debussy, Fauré, and others. She has a deep interest in art song and is passionate about exploring the details in the emotion, the depth of the music, and what the composer tries to convey through the pieces.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Voice Performance from Tunghai University. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance & Pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory at the Johns Hopkins University, under the instruction of Ah Young Hong.

Patricia Hengen

Contralto Soloist/Section Leader

Patricia Hengen 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.

Michael Bevard

Tenor Soloist/Section Leader

Michael Bevard is thrilled to be joining the choir at Grace!  He sang for many years at St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Prior to that he was the tenor soloist at St Mark’s on the Hill in Pikesville, St James Episcopal in Monkton, and Govan’s Presbyterian in Baltimore.  He has performed locally with The Baltimore Symphony, Baltimore Concert Opera, Lyric Opera Baltimore, and The Baltimore Opera Company.  He is also an elementary vocal/general music teacher in the Howard County Public School System.

Robert Cantrell

Bass Soloist/Section Leader

Robert Cantrell has been our bass soloist since 1996 where he is also the Youth Choir Director. Mr. Cantrell has performed extensively throughout the USA, Europe and Asia, and has appeared in operatic roles with the Washington National Opera, Baltimore Opera, Wolftrap Opera, Opera Delaware, Sarasota Opera, Annapolis Opera, Opera Ebony, and Opera Vivente. Career highlights include appearances with Legendary Tenor, Placido Domingo, in Washington National Opera’s Le Cid (Massenet) live on PBS, Carnegie Hall Debut in the Mozart Requiem, performing with the Metropolitan Opera Chorus in New York, Porgy and Bess at the Bregenzer Festspielhaus in Germany, solo performances with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, a solo recital on the New Young Artists Series at the Kennedy Center, performing with soprano, Renee Fleming in Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia at the Washington National Opera, and as soloist on the Baltimore Choral Arts Society’s France Tour and on the Washington National Opera’s Japan Tour. He teaches young aspiring singers at the Baltimore School for the Arts.

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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Christopher Schroeder

Minister of Music/Organist

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