Sumner joined St. Paul’s in September, 2016. Prior to joining us, Sumner served St. John’s, Washington, Ct. He also served 11 years at Calvary Episcopal Church, Memphis, TN, where he was responsible for a program that included two adult choirs, a children’s choir and a handbell choir. He served as Artistic Director and Concert Manager for “Calvary & the Arts,” conducted and managed Calvary’s yearly concert presentation of Messiah, and was responsible for the restoration of Calvary’s 1935 Aeolian-Skinner organ. He has served parishes in Georgia, Virginia, and Maryland and was on the faculty of Chatham Hall, Chatham, Virginia, an Episcopal boarding school for girls.
Mr. Jenkins holds a BMus (1985) in Church Music and a MMus (1987) in Organ Performance from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, VA. and has done additional study with Dr. Wilma Jensen and Diane Meredith Belcher. He is an active member of the Association of Anglican Musicians and the American Guild of Organists. His work as a composer includes the anthem, “Even When God is Silent,” written for Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance), published by St. James Music Press – the text is a translation of words found written on a basement wall in the Warsaw Ghetto during WWII.