
The Conservancy Staff
Jared R. Stahler, Executive Director
Jared R. Stahler provides leadership for the Conservancy’s administration, coordinates the organization’s relationship to its partners and provides direction for the rebuilding of arts spaces destroy by a 2021 New York City waterman break. Since 2016 he has shepherded the process of restoring Louise Nevelson’s sculptural masterwork commissioned for Saint Peter’s and has led the effort to continue to prepare the space for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Stahler is an alumnus of Yale University and the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. He serves as the Senior Pastor of Saint Peter’s Church, leading the institution at a crucial moment for redevelopment in Midtown. He has served on a number of boards of and has been a consultant for a number of not-for-profit organizations.
Vincent Carr, Artistic Director
Vincent Carr is a conductor, organist, pedagogue and composer/improviser widely known for his versatility as a performer and collaborative musician.
Most recently, he served as National Councillor for Education for the American Guild of Organists, the world’s largest professional organization of organists and church musicians, as well as Director of Sacred Music at the parish of Our Lady of the Lake in Verona, New Jersey. From concert hall to church, he has championed new music and the works of underrepresented composers in diverse and engaging concert programs.
As a professional organist and choral conductor, he has held organist and choirmaster posts at some of the nation's most noteworthy churches and cathedrals. From 2006-2013, he was Associate Organist at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, where he founded the Wednesdays at Noon concert series as a mission to the city of Newark. In his subsequent post at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, New York, a commercial recording entitled "A Year at Incarnation" was released featuring the cathedral's renowned music ministry. An experienced university professor for more than a decade, he most recently served as Associate Professor of Organ and Church Music in the prestigious Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University (Bloomington). He also served on the faculties of Montclair State University and William Paterson University.
After earning undergraduate degrees in Organ Performance and Spanish language from Indiana University, Vince continued his graduate music studies at Yale University, where he was the recipient of numerous prizes from the faculty and in national organ competitions. His keen interest in the business aspect of being a career musician led him to undertake further graduate studies in business and personal finance at New York University. He holds the Associate and Choirmaster certificates from the American Guild of Organists and in 2013 he took a sabbatical in France, studying in the tradition of Nadia Boulanger. In March 2024, following extensive examinations, he was conferred the Fellowship Diploma from the Royal College of Organists (FRCO), where he earned the Limpus Prize, the Dixon Prize and the Richardson Prize.
Vince has served as musical director/conductor for the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in the United Kingdom, as well as the celebrity Irish singing group The Priests. His performance of Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb with the Richard Alston Dance Company (London) garnered critical acclaim in both the UK as well as New York City’s Fall for Dance Festival (2016).
Known for his warm demeanor and charisma as a conductor, he has led professional and amateur choirs in both sacred and secular space and served as a conducting fellow for the Grammy-nominated Voices of Ascension. As a composer and improviser, he has developed original music for keyboard, choir, silent film and musical theatre.
Rebekah Thornhill, Director of Development
Rebekah Thornhill advances giving goals and strategies for the Conservancy.
Rebekah graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College before attending Union Theological Seminary, earning a Master of Arts, concentrating in Theology and the Arts. Rebekah also owns and manages a creative business centered on digital manufacturing with sustainable resources. As a small business owner she has worked to advocate for and support other local businesses through involvement with professional organizations.
Rebekah shares a deep commitment towards art engagement and advocacy. She seeks to find ways for individual passions to align with the mission of the Conservancy.