DIRECTOR OF MUSIC/ORGANIST

Jonathan Leonard is from Hagerstown, MD and is a 2001 graduate of South Hagerstown High School. He began organ study in 1999 with C. Randall Williams who was Organist/Choir Director at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church as well as the local Allen Organ dealer. His teachers have been Mark King (Hagerstown Community College and Shepherd University), Dr. Ann Labounsky and Dr. David Craighead (Duquesne University). He has served as Director of Music at Grace United Methodist Church, Hagerstown, MD, since 2014. In his time at Grace UMC, he has overseen the start of a Choral Scholarship Program, the Music at Grace Concert Series, and the replacement of the pipe organ. Since 2021 he has also been the Director of Traditional Music and Organist for St. John's Lutheran Church, Hagerstown. Prior to arriving at Grace, he was an accompanist for Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Gainesville, FL and has served at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church Funkstown, MD; Emmanuel UMC Hagerstown, MD; St. Paul’s UMC Smithsburg, MD; Grace Anglican Church Sewickley, PA; Organ Scholar at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Hagerstown, MD. He has performed concerts in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Florida. Since 2018 he has also been a pipe organ technician for Lawless & Associates Pipe Organ Company (Lewis & Hitchcock Pipe Organ Company) in Greencastle, PA.

CHORAL SCHOLAR

Mx. William Miller is a professional clarinetist in their sixth year as music major at Shepherd University. They are pursuing a degree in clarinet and have performed several solo recitals in their time at Shepherd. Mx. Miller has also studied voice, euphonium, pipe organ, and french horn. They have played with the Hagerstown Municipal Band and do freelance work as a chorister in many ensembles and churches. They are currently a choral/organ scholar at Grace UMC and tenor section leader at St John's Lutheran in Hagerstown, MD. Aside from ensemble playing, Mx. Miller also offers private lessons and does performances with organist Nathan Strite and others.

In 2016 a new pipe organ was built for Grace by Luley & Associates, Inc. of Pittsburgh, PA. This new organ replaced the aging Moller pipe organ. Grace purchased a new pipe organ from the Moller organ company of Hagerstown, MD in 1929 for the new sanctuary. This organ was Moller's Opus 5452. This organ served the congregation well for 45 years. In 1974 Grace had Moller return to rebuild the organ, replace the console, and to make significant tonal modifications. This became Moller's Opus R-913. The rebuilt instrument served another 40 years for the congregation. By 2014 the Moller organ was having significant mechanical problems in addition to a mismatched tonal scheme that was unsupportive of the choir and congregation. In 2015 the church sought out organ builders to determine the best course of action in dealing with the Moller organ. The congregation voted to sign a contract with Luley & Associates, Inc. to install a new pipe organ. Work began with removing the old organ in June 2016. The new organ was completed in May 2017 and Nathan Laube played the Dedication Recital on June 4, 2017 to a full audience. During the time that the new organ was under construction all of the old carpet was removed from the sanctuary and the original wood flooring was refinished. The sanctuary was also repainted during this time and the lighting was upgraded to LED.