David Sinden is a critically acclaimed organist and church musician noted for his “masterful” choral accompanying. Last August he assumed the position of Organist and Minister of Music at historic St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia, where he directs three choirs and plays the largest Manuel Rosales organ in the Eastern United States.
“Organist David Sinden provided masterful accompaniment for the choir – shading all the crevices, plumbing the depths, and exalting the peaks”
– The Diapason, February 2008
Prior to this appointment, Mr. Sinden was the Assistant Organist and Choirmaster of Christ Church Cathedral, Indianapolis, where he accompanied four choral ensembles and directed the Christ Church Singers, the cathedral's voluntary choir. In 2009, Mr. Sinden accompanied the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys on a two-week European tour which included a week-long residency at Ely Cathedral and a concert at Chartres Cathedral. That same year he accompanied the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys in the American premiere of Missa Sancta Pauli Apostoli by Gregory Rose and the world premiere of A Living Hope by Grayston Ives. He accompanied the choir in the premiere of Ned Rorem's A Song of Hosea on the East Coast of the United States at Washington National Cathedral in 2008.
Previously, Mr. Sinden served as Organist at St. Thomas Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Bloomington, Indiana, and Assistant Organist and Choirmaster at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Lakewood, Ohio, where he established the St. Peter's Choristers, a choir for young people affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music. He has also worked as Organist and Choirmaster at Lake Delaware Boys' Camp, an Anglo-Catholic military camp in the Catskill Mountains of New York.
Mr. Sinden holds a master's degree from Indiana University, where he studied organ with Larry Smith, and a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College, where he studied with David Boe. He recently completed a semester of post-graduate study in organ improvisation with Jeffrey Smith at Indiana University. While a student at Oberlin, Mr. Sinden was the Organist and Choirmaster for college Vespers. He studied organ with Robert Brewer while attending the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas.
Mr. Sinden was recently appointed to the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Church Music in the Diocese of Virginia. An active promoter of the organ and its music, Mr. Sinden serves on the Program Committee of the Richmond Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and is a former Dean of the Indianapolis Chapter.
Mr. Sinden is a member of Echoing Air, a dynamic ensemble specialising in the repertoire of the English Baroque.
Mr. Sinden has received the Composer Award from the American Festival for the Arts.
May 2011