David O

SMS premiered “Elements” by David O in March 2007

David O is an award-winning composer, performer, and musical director. His work has
been featured at Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Kennedy Center, The Mark Taper
Forum, and the Hollywood Bowl, as well as other venues in Los Angeles and around the
U.S. He has been a featured pianist at Walt Disney Concert Hall in concerts with the Los
Angeles Master Chorale, including “The New Broadway” and “Toon Tunes,” for which
he created the original arrangement Princess Dreams, a medley of songs from Disney
movies. His choral composition Dadme was commissioned by the Eagle Rock Center for
the Arts, and performed at the opening of “The Rock is Art” installation. Many Los
Angeles children and their parents know David as “The Professor” for his performances
in Summersounds at the Hollywood Bowl, produced by the LA Philharmonic. His
original musicals include The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip and The Legend of Alex,
both commissioned by Center Theatre Group’s P.L.A.Y. Program. The Very Persistent
Gappers of Frip was performed as part of the inaugural season of the Kirk Douglas
Theatre. Other original musicals include Atalanta, Focus Today, Duel, and The Trial of
Persephone.

Some of David’s most unique work includes non-traditional theatre pieces for which he
serves as both musical director and composer. Recently, he created an entirely a capella
score for Hippolytos, a new translation of Euripides’ tragedy commissioned to inaugurate
the Fleischman Theatre at the newly-refurbished Getty Villa in Malibu. In addition,
David was the composer, musical director, and on-stage pianist/percussionist for A Noise
Within’s production of Ubu Roi, for which he received the 2006 Ovation Award for
Sound Design in a Large Theater.

David has musically directed countless musicals in the Los Angeles area, including the
world premiere of The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World. In 2005, he musically directed
the West Coast premiere of Michael John LaChiusa’s The Wild Party. For each of these
productions, David received the LA Weekly, LA Drama Critics’ Circle, and Garland
awards for Musical Direction. Currently, David is the musical director for 13, the new
musical by Jason Robert Brown and Dan Elish, currently running at the Mark Taper
Forum. Over the years, David has had the pleasure of working directly with the
celebrated actors Robin Williams, Laurence Fishburne, Sally Kellerman, Valarie
Pettiford, Megan Mullally, and Bill Irwin, among many others.

David was recently been commissioned to create two new choral compositions:
“Elements,” which was premiered by the Sacramento Master Singers in March 2007;
and a currently untitled piece, part of the “LA is the World” series commissioned by the
LA Master Chorale, premiering at Walt Disney Concert Hall in January 2008.
David is a co-creator of “Voices Within,” an educational outreach program of the LA
Master Chorale, through which children are taught collaborative skills while writing
songs together. He has also led numerous music education workshops for children,
teachers, and parents through Center Theatre Group, the Galef Institute, and the LA
Philharmonic.

David lives in Los Angeles with his wife, the yoga instructor and therapist Michele East,
and their two sons, Caleb and Dylan.