† Dr. Gerre Hancock (1934–2012)

For more than 20 years Gerre served on the Board of Reference of Gloriæ Dei Cantores, and performed several concerts at the Church of the Transfiguration in Orleans. Gloriæ Dei Cantores had the privilege of hosting Gerre and his wife Judith at three “Master Scholas” on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, including several organ concerts, and a performance of Leo Sowerby’s Forsaken of Man directed by Gerre. He also hosted the choir Gloriæ Dei Cantores three times at St. Thomas Church in New York City.

Known as a master of improvisation, Gerre taught master classes and performed recitals across the United States, Europe, South Africa, and Japan. For more than thirty years, Dr. Hancock held the position of Organist and Master of Choristers at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York. He served on the faculty of The Juilliard School and taught as a visiting professor at the Institute of Sacred Music, Yale University, and The Eastman School of Music. He received honorary Doctor of Music degrees and a Doctor of Divinity degree and in 2004. At a ceremony at Lambeth Palace in London, he was presented with the Medal of the Cross of St. Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Prior to his death, Dr. Hancock served on the faculty of the University of Texas. His compositions are published by Oxford University Press and Paraclete Press.