Nathaniel Gumbs ’09 (Bachelor of Music in Performance) was recently appointed director of music at Riverside Church in New York City where he will begin on May 1. A native of The Bronx, New York, Dr. Gumbs has performed throughout the United States and internationally, including in Antigua, St. Thomas, Ghana, Paris and Munich, continually attracting new fans and followers. In a review of a recording featuring him and bass-baritone Dashon Burton, The New York Times praised Gumbs’ playing as “mature, lyrical, accurate, and energetic,” noting that his performance was delivered “deftly and with feeling.”
Gumbs currently serves as director of chapel music at Yale University where he works with students, faculty and guests to coordinate music for three worshiping communities: the University Church in Battell Chapel, the Yale Divinity School community and the Berkeley Divinity School community, the latter two communities both worshiping in Marquand Chapel. He earned his undergraduate degree from Shenandoah Conservatory, his Master of Music degree from Yale University and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Eastman School of Music. Nathaniel’s principal teachers include Professor Emeritus of Organ and Church Music the late Steven Cooksey, Ph.D., as well as David Higgs and Martin Jean.
Prior to his position at Yale, Gumbs served as director of music and arts as well as church organist at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he led several hundred volunteer musicians and staff in four choirs and other ensembles. Gumbs most recently served as the interim minister of music and fine arts at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York.
In addition to his work at Yale, Gumbs maintains a vibrant career as a concert organist, managed by Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. He is also featured on various recording projects through GIA publications with Dr. James Abbington, choral projects with award-winning conductor Dr. Jason Max Ferdinand, and recordings of revised choral works by Margaret Bonds with New York Philharmonic’s Chorus Director Dr. Malcolm Merriweather. Gumbs is a contributing composer in “Pulling Out The Stops, Volume 3, Congregational Song Accompaniments for Organ,” published by Augsburg Fortress. Most recently, he released his first organ solo project, “King of Kings: Organ Music of Black Composers, Past and Present.”
