David Sinden is a critically-acclaimed organist and church musician noted for his “masterful” choral accompanying. He is also an innovative recitalist who often pairs modern works and improvisations alongside early masterpieces.
Mr. Sinden is the Assistant Organist and Choirmaster of historic Christ Church Cathedral on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, where he accompanies four choral ensembles and directs the Christ Church Singers. Recently, Mr. Sinden accompanied the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys on a two-week European tour, including a week-long residency at Ely Cathedral and a concert at Chartres Cathedral. Last year he accompanied the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys in the world premiere of A Living Hope by Grayston Ives and the American premiere of Missa Sancta Pauli Apostoli by Gregory Rose. He accompanied the choir in the East Coast premiere of Ned Rorem's A Song of Hosea at the Washington National Cathedral in 2008. Mr. Sinden can be heard with the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys twice weekly on WICR-FM (88.7), Indianapolis.
Previously, Mr. Sinden has 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.
“Organist David Sinden provided masterful accompaniment for the choir – shading all the crevices, plumbing the depths, and exalting the peaks”
– The Diapason, February 2008
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. 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. He is currently undertaking post-graduate study in organ improvisation.
Mr. Sinden is a member of Echoing Air: a Henry Purcell project. An active promoter of the organ and its music, Mr. Sinden has hosted the Friday Night Organ Pump, a midnight organ recital held monthly in Oberlin's Finney Chapel. He is active in the American Guild of Organists and currently serves as Dean of the Indianapolis Chapter. Mr. Sinden also teaches organ privately.
Mr. Sinden has performed in master classes throughout North America for such noted musicians as James David Christie, Gerre Hancock, Paul Manz, Mitzi Meyerson, Bruce Neswick, William Porter, and Giles Swayne.
Mr. Sinden has received the Composer Award from the American Festival for the Arts.