DAVID ARNOT-JOHNSTON, conductor, singer, and arranger, has directed many vocal and instrumental groups, including the Hart House Singers at the University of Toronto, Tafelmusik Summer Baroque Institute, Canada's National Ballet School, Lakefield Music for Adults, and St. James Cathedral (Toronto). He completed the graduate program in early music at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, The Netherlands, and holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Toronto.
As a tenor soloist, David has performed with several early and contemporary ensembles, including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Opera Atelier, Dancemakers, Utrecht Barok Consort, La Capriola of Amsterdam, Amsterdam Begeleidings Orkest, The Pierrot Ensemble, Utrecht Bach Society, Harlem Bach Ensemble, The Toronto Consort, Hamilton Philharmonic, Aradia Ensemble, and the Theatre of Early Music. He has sung as a soloist under Sigiswald Kuijken, Andrew Parrott, William Christie, and with Emma Kirkby in works by Mozart, Handel, Bach, Lully, and Monteverdi. David has recorded as an ensemble soloist on the CBC, BMG/RCA, Naxos, Marquis, and Analekta labels with Tafelmusik, Aradia Ensemble, The Canadian Brass, Theatre of Early Music, and Toronto Consort.
CONDUCTOR
Hart House Singers, University of Toronto, September 2003 – present
a 100-member choir of undergraduates, graduates, professors, and alumni at the University of Toronto
3 concerts per year / 30+ concerts to date in the Great Hall, Hart House
Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute / University of Toronto, early summers 2002 – 2004
conducted / directed vocal chamber ensembles with instruments
National Ballet School, 1992 – 2001
directed music education programme (Music Nights, Remembrance Day assemblies)
Repertoire Highlights:
Bach: Magnificat, Cantatas
Beethoven: Mass in C
Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem
Britten: Ceremony of Carols
Bruckner: Mass in E Minor
Dvorak: Stabat Mater, Mass in D
Fauré: Requiem
Gershwin: (song review)
Handel: Coronation Anthems
Haydn: Mass In Time Of War (Paukenmesse)
Mozart: Requiem, Coronation Mass, Vesperae Solennes de Confessore
Stravinsky: Symphony of Psalms
Verdi: Messa da Requiem
Kyrie (Mozart Requiem) Dies irae (Mozart Requiem) Celebrons (trad. French)
SINGER
Highlights - Tenor soloist with:
Tafelmusik, Toronto Consort, Utrecht Barok Consort, Opera Atelier, Aradia Ensemble, Utrecht Bach Society, Haarlems Bach Ensemble, Amsterdams Begeleidings Orkest, Niagara Symphony, Ottawa Choral Society, Bach-Elgar Choir, Hamilton Philharmonic, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Te Deum Concerts, Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal, Pierrot Ensemble, Dancemakers, Danse Baroque of Toronto
Repertoire:
Bach: St. Matthew Passion (evangelist, arias), St. John Passion (evangelist, arias), Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio, Easter Oratorio, Mass in G-, Mass in G+, motets, cantatas
Beethoven: Mass in C; Scottish Songs
Britten: Canticles
Caldara: Vaticini di Pace (Christmas Cantata)
Charpentier: Te Deum, Messe de minuit
Couperin: Leçons de ténèbres
Dvorák: Mass in D
Handel: Messiah, Acis and Galatea, Coronation Anthem
Haydn: Die Schoepfung, Paukenmesse, Harmonie-Messe, Lord Nelson Mass, Theresienmesse
Hétu: Les clartés de la nuit
Holman: Five Elizabethan Love Songs
Lully: Atys, Le triomphe de l’Amour
Monteverdi: 1610 Vespers, 1640 Vespers, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, L’Orfeo, L’incoronazione di Poppea, madrigals, masse
Mozart: Requiem, Vespers, Mass in C minor
Orff: Catulli Carmina
Purcell: The Tempest, King Arthur, Dioclesian, The Fairy Queen
Airs de cour / Solo Madrigals: Monteclair, Lambert, L'Affillard, Caccini, Carissimi, Frescobaldi, Grandi, Monteverdi, Peri, d'India
Listen as David performs the aria: Giustitia vuol ch'io pera from
Caldara's Christmas Cantata:
REVIEWS
(As tenor soloist “David Arnot” – my ACTRA name)
The singing verged on the divine. Tenor David Arnot performed frequently throughout the concert and was the standout of the evening. The Globe and Mail, Deidre Kelley (Britten: Canticle I, Monteverdi: Nigra Sum, etc; with Dancemakers)
Tenor David Arnot’s spirited, stylish performance brought energy and focus to this celebratory work, which inspired the most engaging performance of the evening. The Globe and Mail, Tamara Bernstein (Mondonville: Jubilate Deo)
Tenor David Arnot’s light sound and facile voice are perfectly suited to Handel. His performance was full of life and drama, while remaining clean and accurate. The Hamilton Spectator, Elaine Schmidt (Handel: Messiah, with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra)
Another pleasure was tenor David Arnot’s singing of the French air…an excellent tenor… The Globe and Mail, Ken Winters (The Worlds of Salamone Rossi, with Emma Kirkby and Tafelmusik)
David Arnot’s wonderfully facile and rich voice was the highlight of the evening…his marvellous use of dynamics and exquisite art of decoration made gorgeous music of every phrase. The Hamilton Spectator, Hugh Fraser (Grandi: O Quam Tu Pulchra Es)
Versatile tenor David Arnot was good in several roles and best in his last, as a bright Jupiter, king of the gods. The Globe and Mail, Ken Winters (L. Rossi: Orfeo, with Toronto Consort)
Clean and precise, with a good line-up of soloists, especially David Arnot. Classic CD Magazine (England), Graham Dixon
Canadian tenor David Arnot was a strong partner in the duets…the florid, virtuoso passages were beautifully shaped. The Globe and Mail, Tamara Bernstein (Monteverdi: 1610 Vespers, with The Toronto Chamber Choir)
The dancers were sometimes accompanied by the remarkable David Arnot. Toronto Star, Susan Walker
ARRANGER/COMPOSER
Arrangements and Compositions for Choir:
Pavane (Gabriel Fauré), arr. for SATB voices, piano, violin, cello
L’Ange du ciel (anonymous, French), in baroque style, arr. for SATB voices, recorder, violin, cello, organ
What Passing Bell, for SSSAAATTBB voices
Sing Me At Dawn, for SATB voices, piano, 2 clarinets or 2 flutes
He Could Not See The Stars, for SATB voices, piano
In Flanders Fields, for SSA and piano
Sing Me At Dawn - composed by David:
Arrangements for Jazz Band or Jazz Ensemble:
Hora Decubitis (Charles Mingus), for jazz band
The Shadow of Your Smile (Johnny Mandel), for jazz band
You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To (Cole Porter), for jazz ensemble
Funky Miracle (The Meters), for jazz band
25 or 6 to 4 (Robert Lamm), for jazz band
CONTACT
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