David E. Chávez
David Chávez is a composer, collaborative pianist, music theory professor, church musician, music director, and podcast co-creator. His compositions include the opera Norton: A Civil War Story, which premiered with Loudoun Lyric Opera in 2014, followed by a lecture and partial performance at the Chautauqua Institution that summer. Other recent and upcoming premieres include the cantata (& accompanying lecture recital) Great & Wondrous Mystery, an electronic reimagining of the orchestration for Mozart’s Requiem for the IN Series (in November 2022), various works for classical and rock instrumental/vocal ensembles, solo songs, additional choral music, and music to accompany a silent film. David's works, including the one-act operas The Wolf and the Lamb and Overtones, have been premiered and performed in Europe and the USA, by artists and performing groups including Elisabeth Stimpert (of Alarm Will Sound), New Sound Collective, Marijke, HAPPENING, Crittenden Opera, National Opera Association, ArtScape, BYU Opera, Penn State University Opera Theater, Shenandoah University Opera Theater, the Woodbridge Flute Choir, and various houses of worship.
You can hear Dave regularly playing piano and electronics in an eclectic variety of collaborative groups and settings, including monthly with Opera on Tap DC Metro at The Wonderland Ballroom, DC9 and other venues. Dave leads new and creative expressions of worship as the Music and Worship Minister at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Burke, VA, and enlightens the minds of young scholars as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Music Theory at Shenandoah Conservatory. David holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music composition from Penn State, and a Doctor of Musical Arts in music composition from George Mason University. He completed composer residencies at Penn State’s Institute for the Arts and Humanities and at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.