History of Music at Grace
Music has been an important part of the Grace Church community since soon after its founding. It is clear that music was seen as vital as early as 1845, given that Richard Upjohn’s design of the present church provided for an organ. In 1855, the Rev. Thomas March Clark was appointed rector and brought with him his organist, Lewis T. Downes, to organize the first choir at Grace Church. The Grace Church Choir has played an active and important role in the parish ever since.
Over the years the structure and makeup of the choir has varied widely and changed often from a quartet of soloists to a choir of adults, to a choir of men and boys, and as early as the 1920s, to the first incarnation of a multigenerational choir incorporating boys and girls as well as men and women. While adapting to the needs of the times, it has remained an important presence in the parish since its inception.
Organists and Choirmasters at Grace Church
1855-1876
Lewis T. Downes
1876-1888
Albert A. Stanley
1888-1898
Nathan B. Sprague
1898-1900
Ralph Kinder
1900-1901
W. Louis Chapman
1901-1910
Arthur H. Ryder
1910-1916
Arthur Lacey-Baker
1916-1934
John S. Matthews
1934-1938
Grace S. Regester
1938-1946
William C. Heller
1946-1948
Ralph A. Harris
1948-1972
Frederick Cronheimer
1972-1979
Donald Dame
1979-1982
Gregg Romatowski
1982-1990
James Morgan
1990-2014
Mark Johnson
2014-2015
Christian Lane (interim)
2015-Present
Vincent H. Edwards