Myrna Summers (born March 30, 1949) is a

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

singer who has performed professionally for over four decades and is now the Minister of Music at Reid Temple A.M.E. Church in

Glenn Dale, Maryland Glenn Dale is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 14,698 at the 2020 census. Glenn Dale is home to the Glenn Dale Hospital, an abandoned sanatorium, and th ...

. She has a commanding yet distinctive alto voice. Summers was born in

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in 1949. Her parents were members of the

Church of God in Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly Bl ...

(COGIC), and she performed in services at the Refreshing Spring Church in Riverdale, Maryland from a very early age. She attended the McKinley Tech High School, and went on to the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

and the Toutorsky Academy of Music. She formed a group ''the Refreshingnettes'' in the early 1960s. The group recorded "Pray Your Troubles / I'm Determined" for HOB Records. Her original compositions "God Gave Me a Song" (1970) and "Give Me Something to Hold on To" (1979) earned her

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nominations. She was the 1970 recipient of the Gospel Music Workshop of America's Mahalia Jackson Award. Her album entitled "We Going To Make It" became one of her best selling recordings in June 1988 and won a 1989

Stellar Award A Stellar Award is an award presented by SAGMA to recognize achievements in the gospel music industry.Sagma
The Stell ...

for Best Traditional Gospel Artist (Female). She is known for her collaborations with

Timothy Wright Timothy Wright (June 17, 1947 – April 24, 2009), generally credited as Rev. Timothy Wright or Reverend Timothy Wright on recordings, was an American gospel singer and pastor. Biography Reverend Timothy Wright started on piano at age 12, and ...

, the Dallas Fort-Worth Mass Choir and Ambassadors for Christ. She has performed at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

, the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater is a music hall at 253 West 125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue) and Frederick Douglass Boulevard (Eighth Avenue) in the Harlem neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is a not ...

and the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

in Washington, D.C. Summers was Minister of Music at Refreshing Spring COGIC before joining Reid Temple A.M.E Church in 1999. As Minister of Music at Reid Temple she is the leader of the church’s five choirs and orchestra, and the Director of the Mass Choir. The choir led by Summers provides a stirring accompaniment to the preaching and prayers at the

megachurch A megachurch is a church with an unusually large membership that also offers a variety of educational and social activities, usually Protestant or Evangelical. The Hartford Institute for Religion Research defines a megachurch as any Protestant C ...

Discography

Myrna Summers has recorded on more than 50 albums. A select list follows.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Myrna Living people 1949 births American gospel singers People from Glenn Dale, Maryland Musicians from Washington, D.C.