Biography:

His Beat is a Steady 4/4

The Hispanic surname, Barela, comes originally from Spain; its musical character suits David Barela's passionate temperament. David was born in Silver City, New Mexico, a town of 10,000 people only fifty miles from the Mexican border. His parents, George and Anne Barela, divorced when he was three; although he is an only child, he had a number of close friends who became to him like siblings. David was still young when his paternal grandmother, Esther Barela, recognized his already­evident musical talent and encouraged him to begin the study of piano, which he did, at age four.

The Barela's being Catholic, it was a given that David attend Catholic schools. His teen years at Silver High School were not especially noteworthy. He was overweight and suffered from low self,esteem, he retreated socially and watched too much television. He recalls being a mediocre student, struggling as he did with a disability with which he still contends: Attention Deficit Disorder, which makes it difficult to focus on the task at hand. (ADD did not yet "have a name" in the way that it does now.) He played piano constantly, studying it and accompanying a myriad school functions. In the summer before his senior year David went on a crash diet, shed sixty pounds and became someone else, a more social person. A vocal teacher gave him a recording of opera music, to which he spent many happy hours listening. He had long since decided to become an opera singer.

David enrolled at the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque, studying voice. At the University of Arizona, in Tucson, where David is remembered as one of the school's best music students , he studied under Igor Gorin, a retired concert artist and consummate showman with a glorious voice who represented, for David, all the glamour and glory of the old,school singer. (At both universities at which David studied, academic scholarships for meritorious musical achievement covered all costs.) David took voice lessons from Gorin and was employed as his studio accompanist for five years, from 1973 to 1978, when he moved to York City. He auditioned for a well,known voice coach who delivered what David experienced as a knife in the stomach. "You do not have a big enough voice for a professional career," he said. "Why not focus on piano?" Although it was hard news to receive, David came to see the wisdom of that verdict; he knew that he had a good voice, but not a superb one. He returned to the U. of New Mexico (his mother lived in Albuquerque) and began studying towards a Masters degree in Piano. Concurrent with that endeavor, he began a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the U. of Arizona (the two universities are ten hours apart by car, a distance David traversed more frequently than he cares to remember). At the U. of Arizona he studied under Professor Ozan Marsh, a superb teacher who divided the learning process into manageable increments, from first encounter with a piece of music to performance, level virtuosity.

Doing a Master's and a doctoral degree in tandem was no easy accomplishment for someone with ADD as well as an excruciating performance anxiety. Curiously, says David, ADD has furnished him with the greatest gift an artist could wish for , a vivid imagination. He can be working on scales and technique, and his mind can be somewhere else in the hemisphere.

David's relocation to Seattle was the outcome of what he identifies as a midlife crisis. He had been Music Director and organist at a large Presbyterian church in Green Valley, a retirement community in Arizona, he felt miserable and unfulfilled. One weekend he headed to a musical gig in Santa Fe, New Mexico , and never returned to Green Valley. (He admits that he never even told his mother that he was leaving for good.) He arrived in Seattle in mid, September, 1994. "I had nothing lined up," he says, "but I knew it was the right choice."

David got a job moving furniture but soon landed something more promising: he telephoned the one contact he had in Seattle, the Music Director at University Presbyterian Church, and learned that the assistant organist had quit that very day. David had a job. His early months in Seattle, although exhilarating, were not easy. He endured a season of feeling turned off music and burned out professionally; it was during this low period that he came to Gethsemane, in autumn of 1995. The Gethsemane community has changed him, he says; he has never before felt a personal connection with others in his workplace setting. Gethsemane people have been good to him, and he, in turn, has good feelings about this church community. A compact disc project helped pull him get out of his slump; he dubs it a learning project, a crazy experiment that grew. It was a psychiatrist friend in Seattle who diagnosed David's Attention Deficit and recommended medication, which he now takes, to help him remain on task. (Reading a book about ADD was like a light bulb going on in his head, he says.) For the first time in his life he is able to play more securely than ever, without the terror of performance.

David's mother moved from Arizona to Seattle (his father died in 1985), and he is delighted to have her closer at hand. His goals have shifted from what he might have wanted ten years ago. He desires to use his talent for others. The future? "I see myself performing, recording, and teaching. This is a good time in my life," says David. "I want to play more and more, and see where it takes me."

Activity:

Piano
I began studying the piano when I was four years old. When I was a young boy, I remember playing a recording of the second piano concerto by Rachmaninoff. I dreamed of playing that concerto one day myself. My dream came true when I performed the concerto under the direction of my teacher, Professor Ozan Marsh, at the University of Arizona. I have studied with many teachers. Mr. Marsh was by far the greatest.

I have performed many solo piano recitals. I have also performed as an accompanist for both singers and instrumentalists. I have recorded three CDs of piano music in conjunction with the DGB Record label. I have plans to make several new recordings, one featuring my own compositions.

Teaching piano has played a major role in my musical life. I have received much personal satisfaction from teaching piano to gifted students.

The University of New Mexico chose me to represent the music school in a master class conducted by the concert pianist, Andre Watts.

Voice
The first time I heard the sound of a great voice I was completely entranced. I decided to major in voice when I entered college. I studied with many fine teachers and vocal coaches. My first voice teachers were Jane Snow and Susanne Fisher in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I studied with Sebastian Engelberg and Max Walmer in New York City. The greatest teacher I worked with was Igor Gorin. I studied with Mr. Gorin for five years at the University of Arizona.

I made my professional operatic debut with the Arizona Opera Company in 1977 in the role of Alidoro in Rossini's opera Cinderella. I have been the bass soloist in many opera, oratorio, and concert performances. I was the first place winner of the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition. I made my professional recital debut in San Francisco in 1978 sponsored by a concert association in San Francisco.

I have taught and coached many student and professional singers. I was a soloist with the New Mexico Opera Company, the Arizona Opera Company. I was a professional singer for two seasons with the Santa Fe Dessert Choral.

DGB Records
In 1998, I made my first recording called Nightmare. It was after completing that project that I decided to form my own classical record label known as DGB Records. DGB Records was the catalyst to learn the workings of the music business. I have now completed two more recordings. I have international distribution in association with Erotica Classical Record Label. Read my reviews on my Website, www.dgbrecords.com. I am now planning several new recording projects, one of the music by Rachmaninoff, and one of my own compositions.

Organ
In 1970, I obtained my first position as church organist in a Catholic church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am a church organist to this day. I have studied organ at the University of New Mexico and University of Arizona. I studied with Professor Robert Clark at Arizona State University. I am currently the organist and choir director at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Seattle, Washington.

Acting and Musical Theater
I began studying acting at the University of New Mexico in order to become a more convincing opera singer. I went on to study acting at the University of Arizona. I have acted in many stage and musical theater productions in addition to operatic roles. I now enjoy coaching singers in the dramatic interpretation of the vocal repertory.

Dance
I first began to study dance at the University of New Mexico in order to become a better stage performer. I went on to study ballet with Professor George Zorrich at the University Arizona. I was a professional member of the Southwest Ballet Company from 1980 to 1984. As a member of the Southwest Ballet at Gethsemane Lutheran Church in Seattle, Washington. I was the musical director for the Miss Universe Pageant in 1989. I was assistant conductor for a production of Steven Sondheim's production of Follies. I also assisted in the conducting of Bernstein's Mass and Candide at the University of New Mexico. I was the conductor and musical director for a national tour of Dickens' Christmas Carol. 1989, I was the musical director for La Compania de Albuquerque, a professional Hispanic theater company located in Albuquerque, in an original production called Nuevo New Mexico Si! I conducted several ballets for the Southwest Ballet Company in 1984. Company, I was a dancer with the Four Corners Opera Company. I was also a dancer with the New Mexico Opera.

Conducting
I began conducting in 1970 when I accepted my first church job in Albuquerque. The majority of my conducting has been in a religious setting. I currently conduct the choirs.