Our Music Leadership

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Gregory Hooker

Minister of Music

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Gregory has served at St. Mary’s since 2003. Gregory completed the Doctor of Music degree in organ and church music at Indiana University in 2010. His final document is entitled “Reflections on Theological and Musical Education in Episcopal Seminaries.” At IU he studied organ with Marilyn Keiser and Larry Smith, studied harpsichord with Elisabeth Wright and was an Associate Instructor in piano. His previous organ study was with David Mulbury at the College-Conservatory of Music/University of Cincinnati where he received the Master of Music degree. He also holds the Master of Church Music degree with a second major in piano performance from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky. His piano studies at Southern were with renowned pedagogue and piano music editor Maurice Hinson. More recently he studied organ improvisation with Naji Hakim in Paris for a portion of his 2012 sabbatical.

 

Dr. Hooker has performed organ recitals across the United States at venues including the Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta; Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis; and the National Cathedral. He has contributed to Royal School of Church Music Washington Course for Advanced Trebles as a planning committee member. Dr. Hooker has served on the planning committees for the 2010 National Convention of the American Guild of Organists (AGO) in and the 2014 Association of Anglican Musicians National Conference. He has been an adjudicator for several regional organ competitions and has presented workshops for AGO local chapter meetings and a national convention. Dr. Hooker has had articles published by The Christian Standard, The Anglican Digest, and The Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians. St. Mary’s Choirs have sung for regional and national conferences and at the following venues: Trinity Church, Copley Square, Boston; Washington National Cathedral; St. Paul’s, K Street, Washington, D.C. and on two Choir Pilgrimages to the UK: Lincoln Cathedral in 2019 and Salisbury Cathedral in 2024.

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Christine Pan and Rob Stark

 

Christine Pan, originally from Parsippany, NJ, began studying piano and voice at an early age. She was active in the ACDA All-Eastern and All-National choirs throughout middle and high school, singing Tenor under Eric Whitacre in 2017. She attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, where she received her B.A. in Computer Science and B.A. in Piano Performance through the Cleveland Institute of Music's Joint Program. At CWRU, she became one of the first women to join the Case Glee Club (formerly Case Men's Glee Club) and made history as its first female President in 2021. She also accompanied CWRU's choirs and sang Tenor at both the Cathedral of St. John and Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland. Christine is currently a Senior Consultant on Forvis Mazars' Business Consulting team and will begin her MBA at Georgetown University in Fall 2026.  

 

Robert (Rob) Stark is from Hoboken, NJ, and grew up in the children's choir at St. James Madison Ave. in New York. In his senior year of high school, he led the Men's Concert Choir to achieve a Silver Ranking performance at the WorldStrides Heritage Festival in Boston. Rob earned a B.S. in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and an M.S.M. in Operations Research and Supply Chain Management from Case Western Reserve University. During his time at CWRU, Rob revived the Case Glee Club (formerly Case Men's Glee Club) and served as its President in 2015-2016. Rob also sang at Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland for nine years—five as Principal Tenor—and performed as a Countertenor with Quire Cleveland, an early music ensemble, for the 2018-2023 seasons. Rob is currently a Project Manager on Nestlé's Business Growth Solutions team.

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Dr. Matt Gabay

Volunteer Music Associate assists Dr. Hooker as organist for services and accompanist for the choirs.

 

Matt and his wife, Susan, have been parishioners at St. Mary’s since 2006, and he has served as the Associate Organist since 2013.  He successfully attained the Colleague and Associate certifications from the American Guild of Organists and then completed a Master of Music in Sacred Music with a concentration in organ performance in 2016 and a PhD in Musicology in 2025.  As a boy, he sang in the Men and Boys Choir at St. Peter’s Episcopal, Morristown, New Jersey, and also began piano and organ lessons there. Matt served as a helicopter pilot in the US Navy through 2005 and has worked as a management consultant since. Matt and Susan reside in Arlington with their three children.