David Young

David Young is Musarc’s Director of Music. A conductor working on a diverse range of projects across the UK and beyond, David is Chorus Director of the National Symphony Chorus, Ireland, and currently acting as guest Musical Director with the Cambridge University Symphony Chorus. He has worked extensively with the BBC Symphony Chorus, and prepared them and the BBC Singers for a collaboration with Jon Hopkins and Jules Buckley at the 2023 BBC Proms. Forthcoming engagements include conducting Mendelssohn Elijah in Cambridge, a Christmas concert with New London Singers, preparing Mahler Symphony No. 2 for Anja Bihlmaier and Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony for Leonard Slatkin in Dublin, as well as conducting J.S. Bach St Matthew Passion, also with the NSO. He has recently collaborated with Oliver Beer on his Resonance Caves project, working on recording sessions in the Grotte Font-de-Gaume where 20,000 year old cave paintings are found.

As guest conductor he has appeared with RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra (Mozart Symphony No. 40, Fauré Masques et Bergamasques) and recorded Paul Frost’s orchestral suite The Burning of Cork with RTÉ Concert Orchestra. He has had extremely successful tenures as Musical Director of Cardiff Polyphonic Choir, Reading Bach Choir, Dorking Choral Society and Stafford Choral Society, and as Choral Director at the Yehudi Menuhin School. Orchestral concert highlights have included Handel Messiah in St David’s Hall, Elgar The Dream of Gerontius in Lichfield Cathedral, Monteverdi Vespers in Llandaff Cathedral and Handel Dixit Dominus at the RWCMD. His guest work with choirs also includes Huddersfield Choral Society, The Royal College of Music Chorus, amateur choirs all across the UK and a number of professional groups in London including St Martin’s Voices and The Portrait Choir. He previously held the post of Sir Alexander Gibson Fellow with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus, where he has also been invited back as guest chorus master.

David studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and the University of Manchester. In Manchester he prepared the University Chamber Choir for work with BBC Television and a role alongside the Hallé Choir and Orchestra in Wagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg under the baton of Sir Mark Elder, and conducted a huge variety of music including works by Ligeti, Poulenc, Josquin, and Maija Einfelde. He has prepared choirs for Jaime Martín, Kenneth Montgomery, David Hill and Patrik Ringborg (all with NSO), Michael Sanderling (Beethoven Symphony No. 9), Eric Whitacre (Whitacre Deep Field, Five Hebrew Love Songs), Justin Doyle (Brahms Requiem) and James Burton (Walton Belshazzar’s Feast), as well as acting as Chorus Master for both Peter Oundjian and Christopher Bell with the RSNO.