Contributor
David N. Childs
Composer, Performer
Biography
David N. Childs, b. 1969 at Nelson, New Zealand, has a Bachelor’s degree in music from Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand; a Master of Music degree in orchestral and choral conducting from the Florida State University, Tallahassee; and a Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from Louisiana State University.
David N. Childs is the founder, president and artistic director of Vox Humana, a Dallas-based professional chamber choir. He also serves as Associate Adjunct Professor of Music Education at the University of North Texas. He is a full-time Music Specialist in the Dallas Independent School District and a private instructor in piano, voice, and composition. Before moving to Dallas with his wife – a surgical ENT at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center – he previously held the position of tenured Associate Professor of Choral Studies at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN for a period of ten years. He concurrently served as music director for the Vanderbilt Opera Theater program, having conducted performances of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Menotti’s Amelia Goes to the Ball, Harvey Schmidt's Fantasticks, Kirke Mechem’s Tartuffe, Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, and Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.
He has received conducting instruction from Dr. Kenneth Fulton, Dr. André Thomas, Professor Rodney Eichenberger, Philip Spurgeon, and Michael Butterman. He has received additional instruction from Helmuth Rilling as a master class participating conductor at the Oregon Bach Festival. In January of 2017, Childs founded his own company River Avon Productions with the aim of becoming much more active as a composer of New Media. He has been active composing film scores for short films, working with writers, directors and producers from the USA, India, and Norway.
As a choral artist, Dr. Childs is an active clinician and adjudicator in the United States, working at the grade school, college, and community levels. He has conducted All-State and honor choirs in over two dozen states, including Tennessee, Maryland, Virginia, Louisiana, Oregon, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.
His compositions frequently appear at state festivals and workshops, and at ACDA state, regional, and national conventions. They are performed in many parts of the world, including Asia, Europe, the Americas and Australasia. He has received commissions from around the world, including Japan, New Zealand, and South Africa. In 2008 he was commissioned to write an SATB work for the 2009 American Choral Directors’ Association High School National Honor Choir. In June 2009, he conducted a world premiere of his Requiem mass for chorus, soloists, and chamber orchestra, receiving a standing ovation in Carnegie Hall. Two years later he premiered another long work, Festival Te Deum, for choir, soloists and orchestra, also in Carnegie Hall.