Daniel McDavitt

Associate ProfessorCenter for Dance, Music, & Theatre

Dr. Daniel McDavitt (b. 1979) is associate professor of music and Director of the Goucher College Choirs and Orchestra, where he also directs the conducting and musicianship curriculum. Previous to this appointment, he was Director of Choral Activities at Loyola University Maryland, and Acting Director of Choirs at Knox College. 
 
As a composer, Dr. McDavitt’s compositions and arrangements have been performed and broadcast throughout the United States and abroad. His music is published by Walton Music, E. C. Schirmer, Gentry Publications, and Jackman Music. He also has a number of self-published works available through his website, www.danielmcdavitt.com. Dr. McDavitt has been awarded a commission from the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, and won first prize in the Magnum Opus Composition Competition; he has also received numerous grants for music research and to promote new works by living composers; he regularly accepts commissions from community, university, and school choral ensembles from around the country. In 2017, he was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award at Goucher College, and in 2018 and again in 2020, he presented part of his research at the Oxford Conducting Institute in the United Kingdom. 
 
Born and raised in Missouri, he holds a bachelor of arts degree in music and humanities and a master of music degree in choral conducting from Brigham Young University, and a doctor of musical arts degree in choral conducting and literature, with a minor in theory/composition, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 
 
Dr. McDavitt is a member of the American Choral Directors Association, the College Music Society, the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), and the National Collegiate Choral Organization, where he serves on the national board.

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Research, Scholarship, Creative Work in Progress

Creating sensory-inclusive performances

Big Recruiting Ideas From Small Colleges 

Engaging 21st Century Singers in the Choral Rehearsal 

Blended Learning in the Choral Rehearsal

Publications

Something Sings, for SATB, flute, and piano, published by Gentry Publications

My Childhood Home, for SATB, flute, and piano, published by Gentry Publications

The Fountain, for SATB, flute, and piano, published by Gentry Publications

The Promised Land, for SSAATTBB a cappella, published by E. C. Schirmer Publishing

Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal, for SSAATTBB a cappella, published by E. C. Schirmer Publishing

Kitty of Coleraine, for TTBB and four-hands piano, published by Walton Music

God Loved Us, So He Sent His Son, for SATB or TTBB and organ, published by Jackman Music

Come, Lord Jesus, for TTBB and piano, published by Holy Sheet Music

Exhibits or Performances

From Mountain to Forest to River, for SATB Choir, Youth Choir, and Orchestra, commissioned by the Deer Creek Chorale, premiere postponed to November 2020/March 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic

Praise to the Holiest in the Height, for SSATTB Choir and Organ, commissioned by Dr. Allen Buskirk, choirmaster at Mount Calvary Catholic Church, to be premiered October 13, 2019

Locus iste, for SSAA/SSAA a cappella, commissioned by the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, premiered by the Brigham Young University Women's Chorus 

Farewell Song to the Banks of Ayr, for SATB and piano, commissioned and premiered by the Charleston Civic Chorus

Three Memories, for SATB, flute, and piano, commissioned and premiered by the Deer Creek Chorale

Songs from Middle Earth, for SATB, soprano solo, and chamber orchestra, premiered by the Goucher College Choirs and Orchestra

The Parting Glass, for TTBB double choir a cappella, commissioned and premiered by the Loyola Chimes

Let Zion Rejoice, for SATB and organ, commissioned and premiered for the Kansas City LDS Temple Dedication

Commissioned and premiered by the Brigham Young University Men’s Chorus:

  • Come, Lord Jesus, for TTBB and piano
  • Farewell to Babylon, for TTBB, brass ensemble, and organ
  • Give Me Jesus, for TTBB a cappella
  • Highland Cathedral, for TTBB, trumpet, bagpipes, percussion, and piano
  • Inside Out and Kicking: A Festival of Welsh Folksongs, for TTBB, percussion, and four-hands piano
  • Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee, for TTBB and organ
  • Kitty of Coleraine, for TTBB and four-hands piano
  • My Little Welsh (Mountain) Home, for TTBB and piano
  • My Shepherd Will Supply My Need, for TTBB and piano
  • Nearer, My God, to Thee, for TTBB a cappella

External Awards, Honors, Grants

Barlow Endowment for Music Composition

Magnum Opus Choral Composition Competition

Conference Papers & Panel Participation

Blended Learning in the Choral Rehearsal, paper given at the Oxford Conducting Institute at St. Anne's College at the University of Oxford, June 2020 (postponed to June 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic)

Engaging 21st Century Learners in the Choral Rehearsal, paper given at the Oxford Conducting Institute at St. Anne's College at the University of Oxford, June 2018

Academic or Professional Associations

American Choral Directors Association, subcommittee on diversity initiatives

National Collegiate Choral Organization, national board

College Music Society

American Society for Composers, Authors, and Publishers