Baker Lawrimore, Director
Baker Lawrimore (he/him) is the Director and Founder of INSPIRO: The Triad Youth Choir. With the counsel of the Leadership Board and Advisory Team, Baker facilitates the organizational, educational, and artistic components that move INSPIRO’s community to a place of more equitable empowerment and belonging. These responsibilities include the coordination of partnerships, sponsorships, community collaborations, and INSPIRO’s choral curriculum. In this role, Baker is responsible for the majority of rehearsal direction.
Baker holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he studied voice, keyboard, and conducting. While at UNCG, Baker was awarded the Presser Foundation Music Scholarship for excellence in undergraduate music performance. Upon graduation, he was awarded both the Barbara B. Bair and Thomas J. Stone Awards in Music Education.
Immediately following his studies at UNCG, Baker began a 4-year tenure as Director of Choral Music and Drama at Reidsville Middle School in Reidsville, NC. He worked towards establishing a welcoming choral-community while significantly increasing program rigor in performance opportunities, student enrollment, and technical and literacy-based learning outcomes. While in Reidsville, Baker served on a grant-based think tank through UNC Greensboro and the Reidsville Area Foundation. This team of collaborators organized the beginnings of an Arts Pipeline for Reidsville-districted elementary, middle, and high schools. While teaching in Reidsville, Baker worked as Director of Youth and Children’s Music at First Baptist Greensboro. It was in this role that he collaborated with First Baptist’s congregation in establishing INSPIRO.
In addition to his work with INSPIRO, Baker is in his second year as Director of Choirs at Kernodle Middle School and Director of Music at Sedgefield Presbyterian Church. Baker resides in Colfax with his wife Addison, daughter Vera Jo, 2 dogs, Walter and Ruthie… and 9 chickens
Jordan Rosser, Associate Director
Jordan Rosser (he/him) is a member of INSPIRO’s leadership board as an associate director. Outside of INSPIRO, he is currently in his sixth year as the Choral Director and Piano Teacher at Western Guilford High School in Greensboro, NC. Prior to working at Western, he was the Choral Director at HJ McDonald Middle School in New Bern, NC for a year. A native of Durham, NC, he holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
In addition to his educational background and work with INSPIRO, Jordan loves to perform. While at UNCG, he was a member of the Spartones, the all-male a cappella group on campus. He has also performed with the Greensboro Master Chorale and Legacy: the Motown Revue Band. Jordan is currently a bass in Greensboro’s Bel Canto Company, and he provides vocals for Souljam, a party band based out of Winston-Salem.
Hayley Turner, Composer in Residence
Hayley Turner (she/her) is a composer and fantasy author local to the Triad area, and the Composer in Residence at INSPIRO: The Triad Youth Choir. She holds a Bachelor’s of Music Education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and taught middle school chorus and theatre for two years prior to attending graduate school. Under the instruction of composers Dr. Andrew Hannon and Dr. Nicholas Cline, she earned her master’s in Music Composition at Appalachian State University. Hayley’s music has been described by listeners as ethereal, emotional, and moving, reflecting her desire to create music that inspires and invigorates. Her works include music for audiobooks, vocal music for collegiate-level singers, choral music, and most recently a new opera called Firelight.
In addition to her other endeavors, Hayley has taught private piano and voice lessons since 2015. She is a firm advocate of “music for all,” believing that everyone should have access to music education and that the purpose of music is human connection and expression.
Hayley is a Greensboro native and holds a deep love and respect for the cultural vibrancy of her home city. When she isn’t writing books or music, she can be found playing videogames, eating good food with even better friends, or cuddling with her dog, Leia, or her cat, Nyx.
Grace Wall Pinto, Restorative Approaches Advisor
Grace Wall Pinto (she/her) is the Restorative Approaches Advisor at INSPIRO: The Triad Youth Choir. Her role involves evaluating, enhancing, and advancing INSPIRO’s commitment to values-based practices and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Grace brings a wealth of experience in facilitating community dialogues on social justice and DEI topics, along with mediation experience grounded in restorative justice principles. She is also certified in crisis intervention and de-escalation.
Grace earned her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies from UNC Greensboro, where she received multiple awards for academic excellence, research, and community leadership. While focusing on social sciences and DEI at UNCG, Grace pursued her passion for music as a McCormick Music Intern at First Baptist Church of Greensboro and served on the advisory board during INSPIRO’s early stages. Currently, Grace is pursuing a Master of Social Work degree at UNC-Chapel Hill and works full-time as a parent educator at Family Service of the Piedmont. In this role, she provides in-home support and education to parents and caregivers of young children in Guilford County. Grace is dedicated to community empowerment in whatever she does and is excited to bring this passion to the INSPIRO Leadership Board.
When Grace isn’t wearing one of her many professional or academic hats, you will likely find her spending time at home with her husband, Joseph, and their two cats, Mango and Olive.
