Donald Dumler joined the staff of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in 1970 as Associate Organist. In 1990 he was appointed Principal Organist of the Cathedral, and in 2009 played his fortieth Christmas Midnight Mass, a service that is broadcast throughout the worldon television, radio and on the internet. Mr. Dumler plays for over 900 services a year in the Cathedral. Many of these are weddings and funerals, and given the stature of New York’s Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, many of the services are for or are attended by celebrities and notable personages in governments and business. Of special importance were the Masses celebrated during Pope John Paul II’s two visits to the Cathedral in 1979 and 1995.
Mr. Dumler was born in Oklahoma and had early training with Curtis Chambers in Oklahoma City. Later he studied with Mildred Andrews at the University of Oklahoma and was a scholarship student at The Juilliard School in New York City studying with Vernon de Tar. As with all young musicians, performance must begin somewhere, and for Mr. Dumler, this occasion was in Okeene, Oklahoma, at the age of twelve when he performed for the closing banquet of the annual rattlesnake hunt. Since that time, however, the venues have changed. Other than numerous recitals throughout the United States, Mr. Dumler has made two previous recordings and has performed with The Juilliard Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra in both Carnegie Hall and Philharmonic Hall (now Avery Fisher Hall) at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
In 2009, Mr. Dumler played to a more than sold-out crowd in his home state of Oklahoma, with a closed-circuit broadcast in a second venue to accommodate the crowds.
On May 1, 2014, Donald Dumler was named Principal Organist Emeritus of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in recognition for 43 years of faithful and dedicated service. His tenure was the longest of any musician in the history of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.