David Griffiths is known as a gifted musician, vocalist and the minister of music at the famed Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC. Visited by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, the church is steeped in history and is recognized as one of the Nation’s Capital’s premiere sites for exceptional Gospel music. Griffiths, a graduate of Columbia Union College with degrees in music and theology and The Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where he received his Masters of Music in Vocal Performance, is getting ready to add the title of “playwright” to his resume. Along with his church, David Griffiths is presenting his first musical, Journey To Worship, at Nineteenth Street Baptist Church (4606 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC) on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 5:30PM. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door; VIP tickets are $45. Tickets can be purchased at www.journeytoworship.org. For more information, log on to the website or call 202.829.2773.Produced by Griffiths and Gerald Young and directed by Nicole Morgan, Journey To Worship is the story of an African American man’s search for worship in the country of Korea. Years ago, Griffiths embarked on a search for a truer form of worship than he had known before; he wanted a deeper level of intimacy with God. This musical is a step-by-step recollection of that excursion. The story recounts David’s life-changing experiences which opened his eyes to a brand new level of worship. It will also delve into insights that David learned while teaching Korean students the English language.
“In Korea, many of the churches are experiencing an outpouring not much different from the second chapter of Acts,” David explains. “There is such oneness and unity there, a true sense of family. The largest church in the world is there, with 1 million members. What is happening there is amazing. Although we don’t hear about things like that here in the United States, God is doing miraculous things in other countries. What I felt and saw changed me forever,” he says.
With a total of 25 years of experience as a minister of music at a number of DC area churches, Griffiths is recognized for his extraordinary talents. He brings that musical expertise to Journey To Worship. Flaunting beautiful music – including diverse expressions from hymns to contemporary Gospel music – Journey To Worship is a smorgasbord of breathtaking sacred music. The musical element is under the guidance of Edmond Charles, who has been tapped as musical director. As the visionary of the musical, David is thrilled to see his dream come to fruition. In addition, he acts in the musical and is the principal composer of its songs. Popular Gospel artist and vocalist Monique Steele-Griffiths, David’s wife, will be featured in Journey To Worship as well. Dante Pope, a versatile vocalist who has a breadth of music experience, including touring with GRAMMY Award Winning folk artist Dom Flemons, is in the lead role. Marlissa Hudson, a rising opera star, is one of the actors in the musical, too.
An accomplished pianist and prolific composer, Griffiths started his musical journey as a youth learning on his family’s Yamaha piano. Since that time, he’s penned over 300 compositions. He’s been honored with the International Singer Songwriter Association’s Christian Songwriter of the Year Award and has been commissioned to write songs for a number of well-known organizations. He recently published his first book, The Praise and Worship Experience Songbook, Volume 1, and he served as Assistant Music Director of the Dream Choir for the dedication of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. He’s performed on programs with Gospel artists such as BeBe Winans, Earnest Pugh, William Murphy, Maurette Brown Clark, Wintley Phipps, Take 6 and many others. He is also a minister of the Gospel and he been called upon to speak at several churches. He plans to take Journey To Worship on tour in 2016. Connect with David Griffiths on Facebook and Twitter.
