ABOUT DAVE
Dave is a veteran composer, percussionist, and educator. His primary focus is on production music for TV and his credits include: The Fastest Car (Netflix), The NFL Today, The NFL of CBS, College Football on CBS, The Masters Tournament, The PGA Tour, The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, NFL Network, Fox Sports, the Golf Channel, The History Channel, the Oxygen Network, Sony, and Mediacom.
Dave holds a Masters of Music in Jazz & Studio Music and a Bachelors of Music in Music History from the University of Memphis. At Memphis, he studied styles and analysis with Tim Goodwin along with jazz drums with Nashville studio drummer, Karlton Scott. He also attended Appalachian State University where he studied composition with Ludwig Publishing composer, Scott Meister, jazz drums with Rick Dilling, and orchestral and ethic percussion with Philador Percussion Group member Rob Falvo.
Dave has over 20 years teaching experience in the US, Germany, Hungary, and the UK, including clinics, masterclasses, lessons, and classroom lectures. He began his career in higher education in 2002 at Visible Music College in Memphis, TN as the percussion division head where he developed and oversaw the curriculum for the percussion program, taught applied lessons and masterclasses, planned student events, coordinated fundraising efforts, and was responsible for recruitment into the program. Additionally, he developed curriculum and taught other courses including Repertoire and Improvisation, Electronic Music and Technology, History of Popular Music, World Music and Cultures, Music History, and Music Theory I/II.
In 2009, Dave accepted the position of Music Department Chair at Visible Music College where, along with his continued teaching duties, he managed and supervised the music faculty and their divisions (songwriting, guitar, bass, keyboard, and vocals). This position also required him to work closely with the Academic Dean and Vice President for Academics in the areas of staff recruitment, budget planning, and institutional effectiveness and assessment.
Since 2012, Dave has served as a Course Director of music composition at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL. There he developed and taught curriculum that prepares students for engaging careers in an ever-changing entertainment industry. He has substantial experience with both on-campus lecturing as well as online course delivery, virtual lectures (via live webinars), video feedback, and LMS integration.
As a drummer, he has performed and recorded around the country with artists such as Cordone and Kilgore, Suzy Park, Scott Montgomery, the CFC Arts Big Band, the Sy Rosenberg Big Band, The Neal Bowen Trio, Wally West, Dani McCulloch (American Idol), Donnie Smith (Winger), Dave Isaacs, Rob Caudill & the Tonight’s the Night Band, and contemporary Christian artists Vicky Beeching, Aaron Strumpel, and Marty Parks.
Dave has over 23 years of professional musical theater experience covering a broad range of shows and company levels from community theater to professional productions. Performances range from Fiddler on the Roof to Footloose and from The Secret Garden to Sweeney Todd. As a theater musician, he has leveraged his extensive musical experience to gain a deeper understanding of song forms, phrasings, dynamics, harmonic structure, and song craft.
He served as music director and arranger for the 2016 Orlando Fringe Festival production of A Night at Sara’s Lounge, and the upcoming Cordone & Kilgore’s 80’s Night. Additionally, He has also served as music director for jazz engagements including corporate performances at the Ritz Carlton and local events.
Dave is a member of SESAC, the Production Music Association, the Percussive Arts Society, and Kappa Kappa Psi Honorary Band Fraternity. He is a former member ASCAP, IAJE, and MENC.
