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David Small, voice
Baritone David Small currently serves as Artist Teacher of Voice and facilitator for The Mindful Performer class at The Longy School of Music, having retired from The University of Texas at Austins’s Butler School of Music (2020) after 20 years. During his tenure at UT he was selected as a NATS Master Teacher (2011) and was an invited NATS National Conference presenter on the topic “From Stage to Studio; The Life and Times of an Artist Teacher of Voice” (2008). His students have been finalists in the Metropolitan Opera National auditions, the International Verdi Baritone Competition, and have been hired as soloists and apprentice artists with many of the country’s leading regional theaters. He had the honor of serving as a reader/editor for Richard Miller’s last book, “Securing Baritone, Bass-Baritone, and Bass Voices” and has taught multiple masterclasses throughout the United States and in Italy, Mexico, and China.
David’s approach to teaching is grounded in the physiology of the singing voice but also closely tied to his long association with Mindfulness and meditation. As one of his mentors said, “Performance=Potential-Interference”; so one of his main goals in voice lessons is to minimize the interference (of both technique and one’s mind) so the student can enjoy expressing themselves more vividly through their music. His teaching style is demanding but always supportive, encouraging, and positive.
Additionally, Mr. Small continues a vibrant operatic and concert career, having performed over 70 different opera roles in nearly 60 operas, including Rigoletto, Tosca (Scarpia), Traviata (Germont), Boheme (Marcello), and Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro), which he performed over 100 times. He has appeared with the Cincinnati May Festival, Austin Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, and Fort Wayne Philharmonic in works such as Elijah, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, Bloch’s Sacred Service, and Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater. He has collaborated with conductors James Conlon, Anton Coppola, Valery Ryvkin, Victor DeRenzi, Dr. Robert Larsen and others. An avid recitalist, he has performed recitals with Anton Nel, Jean Anderson, Joachim Reinhuber, Steve Wogaman, John Novacek, and Eugene Cline, and has sung Schubert’s complete Winterreise 13 times.
He earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from DePauw University’s School of Music while studying with Thomas Fitzpatrick (protégé of American baritone, Mack Harrell) and earned an Artist Diploma in Opera and an MM in Voice Performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, under the tutelage of the great Italian basso Italo Tajo.
Testimonials:
“Splendid singer, a masterful communicator... excellent command of his instrument. Is able to pinpoint and solve technical problems... offers appropriate useful musical and performance suggestions. Improvement results.” Richard Miller, Professor Emeritus Oberlin Conservatory of Music
“Top choice for singers who want to sing at their optimal level...also currently a fantastic singer” Wayne Tigges, bass-baritone (Met, Chicago Lyric, San Francisco, Opera del Liceu, Paris Opera, LA, San Diego, Glyndebourne, Santa Fe )