SIDE ONE Jazz Programs
Norman David
President & Co-Artistic Director
Norman David is a saxophonist, clarinetist, composer, author, and music educator. Born in Montreal, he moved to the United States in the mid 1970s, residing in Boston, central Maine, and, since 1989, in the Philadelphia area.
David’s
music experiences are extensive and multi-faceted. Over the years, he has
composed for, directed, and played in ensembles of all types, ranging from
jazz orchestra to small combos. His current professional quartet, GROUP 4,
is dedicated to the presentation of new jazz and has been performing regularly
since 1999 in the Philadelphia/New York region. He has composed a huge repertoire
for the quartet and continues to add new works to the book on a regular basis.
David has also appeared with, and his jazz compositions have been performed
by, among others, George Garzone, Dick Oatts, Tim Hagans, John Fedchock, John
Swana, Terell Stafford, and various all-star jazz ensembles. He is a past
recipient of a Fellowship Grant in Jazz Composition from the National Endowment
for the Arts.
David’s art music compositions have been premiered by, among others, Alea III, The Network For New Music, Les Thimmig, Arne Running, and Charles Abramovic. His compositions have been cited for excellence by the Artists’s Foundation of Massachusetts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and the Vanguard Artists Associates.
David’s text book, Jazz Arranging, was published by Ardsley House in 1998 and, to date, has had substantial sales and been adopted for course work at many colleges and universities. His latest book, The Ella Fitzgerald Companion, an examination of the development and artistry of that great American singer, was released by Praeger Publishers in 2004 and is enjoying tremendous success.
David earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Compostion from Temple University, a Master of Music in Composition from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University. In addition, he completed advanced studies in arranging and woodwinds at Berklee College of Music. He is currently Assistant Professor and a member of the Composition and Theory departments at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia where, in addition to teaching composition, he lectures in orchestration, jazz history, arranging, and theory. He is also currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Music at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA, where he directs the college’s Jazz Ensemble and teaches the saxophone studio. He has previously been a full-time faculty member at Berklee College of Music, Colby College, and Ursinus College. He is also on the music faculty at the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Arts where he is the instructor of woodwinds, directs free improvisation ensembles, and lectures in modern music