About Jonathan David

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Jonathan David’s music has been described as “fierce,” “ecstatic,” “Romantic,” and “sophisticated.” While he writes for all media his focus is on music for the human voice. His choral catalog balances the sacred and the secular, accompanied and a cappella, with settings of texts ranging from the melancholy to the mischievous.

Jonathan was born in 1965 in New Haven, Connecticut, and raised in New York City. From age 13 he fronted numerous punk, pop, and r & b bands as a singer/songwriter and guitarist, creating well over 150 songs, and performing in clubs such as CBGB’s and R.T. Firefly’s. He fell under the corrupting influence of Bartok and Mozart during his post-graduate year in Freiburg, Germany, and (for the most part) hasn’t looked back since.

Jonathan’s first solo CD, The Persistence of Song, featuring the complete solo vocal works with piano, was released on Centaur Music in January 2020. Maury Yeston, Tony Award-Winning composer-lyricist, described it as “masterful” and “unique.”

Jonathan has been commissioned by the New York Treble Singers, Duke University, Atlanta Young Singers, Marble Collegiate Church, Carroll University, the Manhattan Wind Ensemble, soprano Amy Bartram, and saxophonist David Wozniak, among others. His choral work has been performed throughout the United States and Europe at such venues as Duke Chapel, the European Parliament in Brussels, Riverside Church (NYC), the Cathedral of Notre Dame-Paris, a deconsecrated synagogue in Slovakia, and an art gallery in Northern Macedonia. Jonathan has also composed several works of music-theatre, including Bronx Express, which ran to critical acclaim at the 2005 New York International Fringe Festival.

Jonathan has served as Composer-in-Residence for The Greenwich Village Singers and was a founding member of the pioneering new music chorus, C4. His Stabat Mater is featured on C4’s debut CD.

He serves on the judging panel for the ASCAP/Deems Taylor Awards for best classical music writing. From 2005-2011 he was the Classical Editor for the internet music service, Napster. Jonathan’s music is published by Oxford University Press, See-A-Dot Music, and Paraclete Press, and is also available through his management, Black Tea Music.

Jonathan currently lives in Chapel Hill, NC. (August, 2024)

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Jonathan David was raised in New York City and currently lives in Chapel Hill, NC.  

Jonathan’s first solo CD, The Persistence of Song, featuring the complete solo vocal works with piano, was released on Centaur Music in January 2020. His most recent commission was from Augsburg University (MN) for Willow Song, a 10-minute work for mixed chorus and solo cello. It was premiered on April 26th, 2024.

He has also had works commissioned by the New York Treble Singers, Duke University, Marble Collegiate Church, Atlanta Young Singers, and the Manhattan Wind Ensemble, among others. His music has been performed throughout the US and Europe at such venues as Duke Chapel, the Palace of Westminster, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame-Paris.

Jonathan served as Composer-in-Residence for The Greenwich Village Singers, and was a founding member of the pioneering new music chorus, C4. From 2005-2011 he was the Classical Editor for the internet music service, Napster. Jonathan’s music is published by Oxford University Press, See-A-Dot Music, and Paraclete Press, and is also available through his management, Black Tea Music. (August, 2024)