Mercy High School Names Greg Lauer First Director of Fine Arts

Mercy High School, an independent Catholic college preparatory school for girls in grades 9-12, has named Greg Lauer its first director of fine arts.

As director of fine arts, Lauer will oversee all aspects of Mercy High School’s fine arts offerings from music to dance to theatre to visual arts.

Mercy High School offers its students a variety of arts programs.

Dance Troupe focuses on various types of dance including tap, ballet, point and modern jazz.

The Madrigal Singers is a choral ensemble that performs music of all types. The Ensemble Players, an instrumental group, focuses on woodwind, percussion and strings.

The Footlighters, Mercy’s theatre troupe, offers students the opportunity to perform in theatrical productions throughout the year and to study acting.

Mercy’s visual arts program focuses on drawing, painting and ceramics.

One significant addition to the Mercy High School fine arts program this year is the Hunt Valley Symphony Orchestra being in residence at the school. Fine arts student will have the opportunity to take master classes with symphony members and to perform with the symphony.

Lauer, a pianist and french hornist, holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Fairmont State University, with the majority of his training in music performance at West Virginia University.

His extensive career in musical theatre includes serving as music director, conductor and pianist for more than 50 local and regional productions throughout the East Coast. Lauer has performed in England, France, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Hawaii as well as at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Lauer has performed with many orchestras including the Hunt Valley Symphony Orchestra (of which he is the founder and executive director), Lancaster Symphony, FSCA Symphony, Baltimore Philharmonia, WVU Symphony, Chamber Orchestra and Wind Symphony. He was recently in the popular Netflix series “House of Cards,” which is filmed in Maryland.

Lauer also co-founded a community theater with director Jason Young in Fairmont, West Va. He has also taught musical theater at West Virginia Wesleyan College.

“Students at Mercy High School are very fortunate to have someone of Greg Lauer’s stature in the arts community working with them every day,” said Mary Beth Lennon, president of Mercy High School. “Greg is an accomplished musician who also has expertise in various other arts including the theatre. We are pleased to have him part of the Mercy family.”

For more information about Mercy High School, visit mercyhighschool.com.