Music · People · Ideas
DAB ||: Music is an independent creative and producing platform founded by David Alexander Barnard, bringing together artists, performances and ideas.
Its work encompasses artist contracting and musical leadership, concert production and presentation, collaboration and professional development — from assembling musicians for international arena productions to creating recitals, masterclasses and independently developed artistic projects.
At its heart is a simple principle: finding the right people for an idea, and creating the conditions in which good musical work can happen.
INTERNATIONAL CONTRACTING & COLLABORATION
André Rieu Productions
One of DAB ||: Music’s first major contracting relationships developed with André Rieu Productions in 2022.
In March 2022, David was contracted to assemble and lead an international group of pipers for André Rieu’s concerts in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The resulting ensemble brought together musicians from several countries for five arena performances with Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra.
The collaboration continued in May 2022, when David returned to work with André Rieu Productions at Sheffield Arena, this time leading the City of Sheffield Pipe Band as its Pipe Major.
In summer 2023, the relationship developed further with an invitation to perform during Rieu’s celebrated summer season on the Vrijthof in Maastricht. The performances formed part of the filmed concert production subsequently released for international audiences, including cinema presentation.
Together, the engagements demonstrate an important aspect of DAB Music’s work: bringing together musicians, managing the musical requirements of a project and providing experienced leadership from initial contracting through to performance.
CONCERTS & ARTIST DEVELOPMENT
DAB ||: Music has also created and presented projects in Sheffield and South Yorkshire which combine professional performance with opportunities for learning, exchange and musical development.
Piping & Drumming Masterclasses
14–16 October 2022 · Sheffield
Neil Clark, piping · Stewart Gardiner, side & tenor drumming
A weekend of specialist piping and drumming tuition bringing two highly experienced figures from the international pipe-band community to Sheffield.
Piper and teacher Neil Clark gave a public masterclass at Victoria Hall, Sheffield, alongside a wider programme of workshops and specialist tuition. He was joined by Stewart Gardiner, providing teaching in side and tenor drumming.
Both musicians also worked extensively with members of the City of Sheffield Pipe Band, during David’s first period as Pipe Major, providing individual tuition and ensemble development for the band’s pipers and drummers.
The project reflected David’s lifelong involvement in Highland piping alongside his work in classical music, and DAB Music’s broader interest in bringing experienced practitioners into direct contact with developing musicians.
Autumn Piano Recital
16 October 2022 · St Margaret’s Church, Swinton
David Alexander Barnard · piano
A solo recital marking David’s return to South Yorkshire after a decade working principally in Australia and New Zealand.
The programme brought together music by Mozart, Poulenc, Albéniz and Philip Glass, and reunited David with the Bechstein grand piano he had given to St Margaret’s approximately a decade earlier.
The story attracted regional press attention and provided one of the first public introductions to the newly established DAB Music.
A Woman’s Face
25–27 November 2022 · Sheffield
Professor Janis Kelly, soprano · David Alexander Barnard, piano
A Woman’s Face brought internationally distinguished soprano and Royal College of Music Professor Janis Kelly to Sheffield for a project combining artist development with public performance.
At Victoria Hall on Friday evening, Kelly worked with singers from the Royal Northern College of Music in a public masterclass, with David accompanying the participants at the piano.
The project culminated on Sunday 27 November at St Andrew’s Psalter Lane Church, where Kelly and Barnard presented A Woman’s Face, including Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben.
The project was featured by The Yorkshire Post ahead of the performance.
What We Do
Although the projects themselves can be very different, the approach behind them is consistent.
Music
Music is the starting point: repertoire worth performing, an unusual collaboration, a new work or an idea which deserves to be developed.
People
People make the project possible.
DAB ||: Music brings together singers, instrumentalists, composers, teachers, ensembles and partner organisations according to the particular needs of the work.
Ideas
Ideas determine the form. A project might become a concert, masterclass, recording, international collaboration or something altogether different.
The project determines the people; the people help determine what the project can become.
PROJECTS & COLLABORATIONS
The same approach continues through David’s wider work: developing projects through conversations with performers, composers, institutions and creative partners.
Selected projects include performances, recordings, broadcasts, new music and international collaborations across the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
MONOTREME PUBLISHING
Editions · Arrangements · New Music
Monotreme Publishing is the publishing imprint of DAB Music, creating practical, beautifully presented editions for performers.
Its work includes newly prepared editions of existing repertoire, particularly where older scores are difficult to read or impractical in performance; new music and first editions; arrangements and transpositions; and editions and settings for Highland pipes and pipe band.
The emphasis throughout is practical: clear notation, intelligent preparation and scores designed to work in rehearsal and performance.
EXPLORE MONOTREME PUBLISHING → (coming soon!)
About DAB ||: Music
DAVID ALEXANDER BARNARD
DAB Music was established by pianist and conductor David Alexander Barnard as a framework through which projects could be developed alongside his international performing and operatic career.
His work across performance, opera, artist development, education and musical leadership informs the way DAB Music approaches each project: professionally organised, musically rigorous and fundamentally collaborative.