David J. Xiques

David J. Xiques is professor of music in the School of Music and Dance at San Francisco State University, where he teaches ear training and musicianship classes and directs the University Chorus. His teaching experience includes fifteen years in K–12 choral, junior and high school band, and general music classes. A Kodály specialist, he teaches at the Kodály Summer Certification Program at New York University. In addition, he is a professional singer, tenor, with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, where he serves as assistant chorus director. He is a frequent choral clinician and presenter at professional music conferences.

Professor Xiques is the author of &ldauo;Solfege and Sonority: Teaching Music Reading in the Choral Classroom

“A fabulous resource! David Xiques's pedagogical processes towards music literacy for young singers through outstanding choral literature are clear. His sequencing is invaluable for the conductor who wishes to approach masterful musicianship with beginning choirs.” -- Georgia A. Newlin, DMA, Adelphi University, Past President, Organization of American Kodýáy Educators

“A thoughtful presentation of concepts that will be of use to teachers at many levels, Solfege and Sonority is the most coherent and broadly applicable pedagogy I have seen on this very important subject.” --Joshua Habermann, Conductor, Dallas Symphony Chorus

Xiques has also published two choral arrangements with Alliance Music Publications: “Bashana Haba 'a” and “Chants of Faiths”. Both are written for mixed chorus.

As assistant chorus director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, he prepared the Grammy Award–winning ensemble for performances of Mozart's Mass in C Minor for Ingo Metzmacher, conductor. He also prepared the Chorus for the North American premier of John Adams's Flowering Tree for Maestro Adams, who conducted the performances.

His work as a chorus director can be heard in a recording of Printemps on the CD Debussy Rediscovered, Premier Orchestral Recordings, released in 2000 under the Arabesque label. He worked closely with the conductor Emil de Cou, music director of the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, in recreating Debussy's original version of Printemps by restoring Debussy's wordless chorus to the orchestration. Before this time Printemps had been heard only in an orchestral version.

Xiques earned his M.M. in Music Education with Kodály Emphasis degree from Holy Names University in Oakland, California, where he was a member of the faculty, and B.S. in Music Education from Millersville University in Millersville, Pennsylvania. He studied ear training and musicianship extensively with Erzsébet Hegyi of the Liszt Academy in Budapest, and conducting with Vance George of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, as well as members of the 1995 Chorus America faculty at Saranac Lake, New York.

Browse compositions by David J. Xiques



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