Piano · Opera & Conducting · Song & Chamber Music · Artist Development
David Alexander Barnard’s work moves between the concert platform, opera house and rehearsal room. As a pianist, conductor, répétiteur and coach, his career has developed through long-term collaborations with singers, instrumentalists, orchestras, opera companies and emerging professional artists across the UK, Europe and Australasia.
Piano
David’s work as a concert pianist encompasses solo, concerto and collaborative repertoire. He studied solo repertoire with Diana Harris OAM and was subsequently mentored by internationally renowned Australian concert pianist Michael Kieran Harvey.
Concerto appearances have included Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major, K.595 and Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto, while solo programmes have featured music by Mozart, Schumann, Brahms, Albéniz, Poulenc and Philip Glass.
A committed advocate for contemporary music, he has also premiered new works by composers in Australia, New Zealand, Malta and the UK. His approach combines a strong grounding in the classical piano tradition with an enduring curiosity for contrasting repertoire and new musical voices.
SELECTED PROJECT → Commissions & Premieres
Opera & Conducting
With a particular affinity for choral conducting and opera, David is most at home where conducting, singing and the keyboard meet.
He studied conducting with Fraser Goulding, a pupil of Vilém Tauský, who studied with Leoš Janáček, giving his training a distinctive Central European lineage.
His professional experience encompasses work as Chordirektor, Solokorrepetitor, Studienleiter, conductor and chef du chant, including three seasons at Landestheater Linz, where he served as Solokorrepetitor and Deputy Chorus Master, alongside work with companies including Opera Australia, State Opera South Australia, New Zealand Opera, Opera North, Buxton Festival Opera and Opéra de Massy.
An experienced continuo player, David particularly enjoys accompanying recitative in performance, combining the roles of conductor, pianist and vocal collaborator within the practical traditions of the opera house.
Song & Chamber Music
Song has been a continuing thread throughout David’s career as a collaborative pianist, with performances and broadcasts across the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
His repertoire ranges from Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Poulenc and Debussy to Copland, Ives, Jake Heggie and Michael Balcombe. He has appeared at Oxford International Lieder, performed Brahms’s Liebeslieder-Walzer in piano duet with Malcolm Martineau, and received mentoring from Graham Johnson, Ian Burnside and Malcolm Martineau.
His chamber work encompasses duo sonatas, piano trios and quartets, including collaborations with members of leading orchestras and ensembles. He founded the London-based Wren Players, a piano trio with members of the London Symphony Orchestra, and Papillon, a period-instrument piano quartet.
SELECTED PROJECT → The Call of the Huia
Artist Development
Alongside his performing career, David has extensive experience in Young Artist development, higher education, coaching and mentoring.
At the University of Melbourne, he co-developed the curriculum for the Master of Music (Opera Performance), while at Victoria University of Wellington he developed curriculum in collaborative piano, connecting conservatoire training directly with professional practice.
His work has also included guest coaching and teaching at institutions including the Accademia del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Royal Northern College of Music and School of the Arts Singapore. Many graduates from programmes to which he has contributed have subsequently established professional careers internationally.
This work reflects a longstanding interest in the transition between advanced musical training and professional life: developing not simply technical proficiency, but the collaborative, stylistic and practical skills required of working musicians.