Worship & Music - Music Staff
Dr. Clair Rozier
A native of Washington, D. C., Clair Rozier is an accomplished organist, choral director and teacher. She was first inspired by organ and church music at the Washington National Cathedral as a student at the girls’ school, and began studying organ in high school with Richard Roeckelein. As an undergraduate student at Goucher College she studied organ with Dr. Barbara Thomson, continued graduate studies at Cincinnati Conservatory with Dr. David Mulbury, and completed doctoral study with David Craighead at the Eastman School of music, where she was awarded the Performer’s Certificate. She later studied with Marie-Claire Alain earning the Prix d’Excellence from the Conservatoire National of Rueil-Malmaison in France.
Dr. Rozier’s organ recitals have taken her to London, Paris, and throughout the eastern and southern United States. She was a semifinalist in the1993 J. S. Bach International Competitions in Washington, D. C., the 1990 Grand Prix de Chartres in France, and the 1985 St. Alban’s International Organ Competition in England. She has presented workshops and recitals for many AGO chapters, and was a clinician at the AGO 2000 National Convention in Seattle, WA. and the 2002 National Convention in Philadelphia, PA.
Dr. Rozier taught organ, theory and church music at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington from 1985-1990, where she was an assistant professor of music. She then moved to Ardmore in 1991 and served as director of music of Ardmore Presbyterian Church.
Since starting here at St. David’s Church in 1999 she has developed a choir program for all ages. The St. David’s Adult Choir has performed in the Washington National Cathedral and was a resident choir at the Cathedral of Wells, U.K. in 2004. In July of 2009, under Dr. Rozier’s direction, they were the choir-in-residence at the Cathedral of Ely.
Dr. Robert Gallagher
Bob Gallagher came to St. David’s as Associate Director of Music in the spring of 2001. He directs the Primary Choir, the St. Cecilia Youth Choir, and the Adult Handbell Choir. He also accompanies the Adult Choir. Bob’s enthusiasm for, and commitment to, ministry through music is demonstrated by the fact that he has served as a church organist and choral director continuously (except for his year of study in France) for 28 years - from the age of 16.
Dr. Gallagher has performed as organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and accompanist to critical acclaim throughout the United States and Europe . He has taught in the Organ, Conducting, and Liturgical Music departments at the Catholic University of America and served for eight years as Organist of the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle in Washington , DC . During his years of study at the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School , he held a four-year term as Assistant Organist at St. Paul 's Chapel of Columbia University.
Upon graduation from Manhattan School of Music at age twenty he was honored with the Bronson Ragan Award for Excellence in Organ Performance. Dr. Gallagher also holds diplomas and prizes from his period of study in France , where his teachers included Marie-Claire Alain (organ), Huguette Dreyfus (harpsichord), and Jacques Taddei (improvisation). His organ teachers in the United States have included Peter Marshall, Gerre Hancock, Frederick Swann, Doris Hamel Eicher, and Arnold Ostlund, Jr.
Dr. Gallagher has performed as organ soloist with the Washington Bach Consort and as harpsichordist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He recently recorded two organ works by Curt Cacioppo for Capstone Records. He is a founding member of the Liturgical Organists Consortium, a group of five organists committed to the renewal of esteem for the organ within the Roman Catholic church. The Consortium’s CD, The Sacred Legacy of Paris , recently won The Golden Ear Award from The Absolute Sound, America ’s premiere audiophile magazine. In May of 2002, the Consortium’s performance in the inaugural series for the new Lively-Fulcher organ at St. Olaf Church in Minneapolis was hosted by Michael Barone and recorded for Pipedreams Live. Dr. Gallagher appeared again on Pipedreams Live in Cincinnati as part of the National Convention of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians.
Elaine Giese
Music Assistant/Librarian