Our Director of Music at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Church

Dr. Henry J. Sgrecci

Director of Music

Henry Sgrecci, our Director of Music, is a native of Watkins Glen, NY and comes to us from a position as Director of the Bells of Blessed Sacrament, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia. A former member of the elite United States Army Band, �Pershing�s Own,� he has appeared before dignitaries throughout the world. He performed Taps in the presence of Margaret Thatcher, Boris Yeltsin, and President George Bush at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetery, and before Princess Diana at Wembley Arena in London. In 1988 Henry toured behind the Iron Curtain with the Washington Bach Consort, performing in the Neue Gewandhaus Concert Hall in Leipzig, East Germany in honor of J.S. Bach�s tercentennial. He was profiled on ABC�s World News Tonight on Easter Sunday, 2004.

Henry holds degrees from Ithaca College and the Catholic University of America, and attended the Aspen Music Festival. He was awarded the Doctorate of Musical Arts in conducting from The Catholic University of America in 2002 and includes as his mentors Robert Garofalo, Gustav Meier, and Anthony Maiello. He has studied voice with Richard Hartzell. He is recognized as an imaginative conductor of choral and instrumental music and has held professional positions as cantor, choir director, orchestra director, handbell choir director and handbell clinician. At Blessed Sacrament Church he directed the Bells of Blessed Sacrament for fifteen years, leading the ensemble during the mass of Pope Benedict at Washington Nationals stadium, and established the church�s annual benefit concert that has raised over $15,000 for charities while providing professional caliber performances for the church community.

Henry enjoys working with musicians of all ages and in all genres. He is Associate Conductor of the Washington Metropolitan Youth Orchestra and led the ensemble in its 2007 Veterans Day tribute with the Northern Virginia Community College Choruses at Rachel Schlesinger Concert Hall. In 2007, while the Orchestra Director at T.C Williams High School, he was recognized as an Outstanding Educator by Virginia Governor�s School. His interest in educational endeavors led him to create a young audience concert based upon the Dr. Seuss tale, Gerald McBoing Boing. Henry lives in Annandale, Virginia with his wife and two children.