a b o u t
Hello! I'm Dave. I'm a composer and I am from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I've tread many musical paths, from writing orchestral music for film, playing bass in a Johnny Cash cover band, to conducting contemporary opera. My eclectic background in music has shaped who I am as a person and who I am as a collaborative composer. I grew up playing rock and roll, singing in the choir at church, playing in brass bands, and listening to an unhealthy amount of John Williams and Nobuo Uematsu. I love storytelling and I seek to write music for stories, whether they are movies, audio dramas, video games or something completely different.
I teach composition and songwriting at Bridgewater State University. I love helping young musicians find their musical voice and discover their superpowers. I get to empower the next generation of musicians by teaching Career Skills and showing them how to think like entrepreneurs and to create opportunities for themselves. I teach them how to serve their audiences and their communities. I produce a podcast called The Sand Dollar where I encourage others to do the real work they seek to do.
I live in Foxborough, MA with my partner, Sophie Kass.
c o m p o s i t i o n a l p r o f i l e
Melody- storytelling, memorability, ear-worms, fragmentary, thematic development, hummability
Harmonic Language- non-functional harmony, superimposition, post-romantic, atonality, chordiods
Rhythmic Techniques- minimalistic textures, shelving, mixed-meter, groove-based
Experimental Tendencies- unusual instrumental combinations, de-tuning strings, eclectic percussion