Biography
David Wilson received his B.Mus from the University of Calgary in 1991 and his M.Mus in Choral Conducting from the University of Alberta in 2003. He is a Singer, Conductor, Voice Teacher, Yoga Instructor, and Breath Therapist. In Calgary he served as Artistic Director of the Calgary Renaissance Singers & Players (CRSP) (1991-2001)—highlights include the release of their CD The Spirit of Musick, and the Calgary première of the Thomas Tallis Spem in Alium.
Listen: CRSP performs Pastime with Good Company - Henry VIII
From 1993-1995 he was the Music Director for the Debut Opera Society, where he conducted The Gondoliers, Mikado, Messiah, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, La Bohème, Carmen and La Traviata. David founded the SPIRITUS Chamber Choir in 1995; this semi-professional choir received a 1999 International Contemporary A cappella Recording Award for their performance of Anton Bruckner’s Os Justi from their inaugural CD Crossing Bridges, and was a Semi-Finalist in the CBC National Choral Competition 2000. They released their second CD, Never the Same River Twice in 2001.
Listen: Spiritus sings Os Justi - Anton Bruckner
In 1999, David received the Alberta Choral Federations’ Con Spirito Award, and in 2004, was invited to the Évora Cathedral Music School in Portugal to present his Master’s Thesis, Manuel Cardoso of Portugal.
(More video and audio clips can be found on the Recordings page.)
Since moving to Edmonton he has served as Music Director for Vocal Alchemy, the Edmonton Recorder Orchestra, My Fair Lady, Dream King, Mikado, and most recently, RENT. From 2003-2008 David served as Director of Music at Concordia High School, from 2006-2010 served as Vocal Yoga instructor for Opera Nuova’s Summer Festival Program, and since 2010 has been working with Edmonton Musical Theatre as Vocal Coach.
As a singer, he has been singing in the Edmonton Opera Chorus since 2006, and in 2011 performed “Cinderella’s Prince” and “The Wolf” in Elope’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.
In addition to teaching voice in both Calgary and Edmonton, David is the founder of the Body, Breath, & Voice Integrative Training Technique; he leads over sixty workshops a year in Western Canadian schools, yoga centres, offices and hospitals on the use of yoga, breath and voice to develop physical health, vocal strength, and personal confidence, as well as to unleash one’s full creative potential. David’s unique background has created an eclectic yoga teaching style, combining elements of Hatha, Restorative, Flow, Natural Breathing Techniques, Pranayama and Vocal Play. He counts his teachers David McCammond, Esther Myers, Elsie Hepburn and Boots Beaudry as his major influences. He is currently working on his first book and DVD, Yoga for Singers.