David Jernigan first began studying organ with British virtuoso Colin Andrews at age sixteen.  A native of North Carolina, he earned his Bachelor of Music degree, in Organ Performance, at East Carolina University (ECU), where he studied organ with Janette Fishell and choral conducting with Daniel Bara.  In May of 2007, he received the Certificate in Advanced Performance Studies from ECU, during which he studied in extended residencies with Bach scholar, Ludgar Lohmann, professor at the Stuttgart Conservatory, Germany, and Messiaen specialist, Dame Gillian Weir, professor at the Royal College of Music, London, England.

While attending ECU, David served as the Music Associate/Organ Scholar at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greenville, North Carolina, where he was primary conductor of the Chamber Choir and cofounder of the Episcopal Campus Ministries Compline Choir.  St. Paul’s has hosted the premier of several of his compositions, including, the Preces and Responses, the Evening Canticles, Psalm 129 as well as several hymns and psalm tones.

Most recently, he was awarded the Master of Music Degree from the prestigious Yale University School of Music where he studied organ with Martin Jean and Thomas Murray as well as conducting with Maggie Brooks.  Currently, David serves as the Director of Music and Liturgical Arts at St. Thomas’s Episcopal Church and is also the Executive and Founding Director of the St. Thomas’s Episcopal Choir School.  In addition to founding the St. Thomas’s Schola Antiqua, a fully professional ensemble dedicated to the study and stylistic performance of A Cappella music from the Medieval and Renaissance periods, David is also the founder of the St. Thomas’s Episcopal Choir School. 

In the fall of 2009, the combined choirs of St. Thomas’s released their first commercially recorded CD, “O Great Mystery: Music for the birth of a Saviour,” under his direction.  Following the release of their album, the St. Thomas’s Adult and Senior Youth Choirs were invited to perform choral residencies at Westminster Abbey and Gloucester Cathedral as well as a service of evensong at the Chapel Royal, Windsor Castle, in  August of 2011.  David has also conducted the St. Thomas’s choirs in services at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC.

In 2005, David was ranked second at Music Teacher’s National Association competition for organ performance in the Young Artist Division at national finals after placing first at the state and regional levels.  He was also a first place winner of the 2005 Metropolitan Music Ministries competition for organ as well as the 2003 Eastern Carolina chapter and the 2005 Winston Salem Chapter American Guild of Organists (AGO) Young Organist competition.  In 2007, David was named a semi-finalist in the National Young Artist Competition in Organ Playing, sponsored by the AGO, ranking him as one of the top seven young organists in the country.  

Having participated in study programs both domestically and abroad, he has performed in master classes with some of the worlds most renowned organists, including David Sanger, Thomas Trotter, Hans-Ola Ericson, Lorenzo Giehlmi, David Higgs, John Scott, Harold Vogel, Marie-Claire Alain and Wilma Jensen.        

David has been invited to perform as a soloist in some world’s most prestigious concert venues.  Some recent and upcoming engagements include recitals at Westminster Cathedral and Westminster Abbey, London, UK; Bristol Cathedral, UK; the Town Hall of Oxford, U.K.; the Collegiate Church of St. Peter, Wales; the Cathedral of St. André, Bordeaux, Fr.; the Marienkirche, Stralsund, De.; St. Phillip’s Cathedral, Atlanta; the National Cathedral, Washington D.C.; the Church of St. Mary the Virgin,  New York City; and Woolsey Hall, Yale University.