Branden Grimmett is the organist at Sacred Heart Church in Lexington, Massachusetts. Branden came to Sacred Heart after serving as organist at Arlington Street Church, Unitarian Universalist, in Boston’s historic Back Bay. He previously served as the director of music and organist at First Congregational Church in Somerville, and prior to that was the assistant music director and organist at Topsfield Congregational Church, under the direction of Mark Morgan, the artistic director of New England Light Opera. Branden received his Bachelor’s degree in organ from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, and his Master’s degree in theology from Harvard University. He has studied organ with John Ferguson, Cathy Rodland, Shirley King and Ken Rogers; piano with Karen Schlabaugh, Scott Donald and Rosella Mason; and voice with Robert Scholz and Anton Armstrong, conductor of the St. Olaf Choir and artistic director of the Oregon Bach Festival Youth Choral Academy.
In 2007, after serving as the organist for the Boston premiere of Arvo Pärt’s Passio, the Passion according to St. John, with the Boston Choral Ensemble, Branden was invited to join the Boston Choral Ensemble as their rehearsal accompanist, under the direction of Miguel Felipe. He has also accompanied the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus, under the direction of Reuben Reynolds, performing the Boston premiere of When We No Longer Touch: A Cycle of Songs for Survival by Kristopher Jon Anthony. From 2000 to 2003 Branden was heard on National Public Radio as the chapel organist at St. Olaf College, and in 2003 served as the organist for the Amistad Celebration at the Bank of America Pavilion (formerly Fleet Boston Pavilion). As a singer, Branden performed Arthur Bliss’ oratorio Morning Heroes with the Saint Olaf Cantorei at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, alongside James Earl Jones as narrator. He was also seen on the PBS televised St. Olaf Christmas Festival from 2000 to 2004. As an organist, Branden has been featured on the choral album Rise Up, O Men of God, performing Jean Langlais’ Missa Salve Regina and Antonio Vivaldi’s Crucifixus.
Branden is an active member of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, the American Academy of Religion and the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. He serves as a consultant to several religious denominations and individual congregations, advising them on how to enhance worship and increase membership through music. Branden is a member of the United Church of Christ Musicians National Network (UCCMNN) and currently sits on the Praise Song Advisory Team for the upcoming United Church of Christ (UCC) hymnal supplement, to be released in 2009. In June 2007, Branden served as the organist for the UCC's 26th General Synod and 50th Anniversary Celebration of the United Church of Christ in Hartford, Connecticut, where Bill Moyers and Senator Barack Obama were the featured presenters.