Dan David Band

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Page 40 T cjnews.com THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS October 2, 2008


Rock violinist aims to empower his audience
By SHLOMIT KRIGER
Special to The CJN


It isn’t fame or money that fuels the passion of 30-
year-old rock violinist Dan David. He hopes his music will
help spread positive messages and make a difference in
others’ lives.
“I want to bring hope to people, to make them happy
and empower them,” said David, a.k.a. Dan David Aronovich.
David’s love of music began at age seven, when he
found himself drawn to the violin and enjoyed using it to
express himself. He later took piano and drums lessons,
but he doesn’t play those instruments professionally.
Having spent 10 years of his childhood in Israel before
moving to Montreal with his family in 1988, David went on
to complete the music in performance program at McGill
University, where, as a soloist for the McGill Chamber
Orchestra, he often performed at prestigious sold-out
concert halls around the city and the West Island.
While in university, he began writing some of his own
songs. By his graduation, he had already composed more
than 10.
“I felt that the songs came through me from a higher
spirit,” said David. “Being Jewish and believing in God, I
felt that this was what I was meant to do.”
David moved to Toronto in 1998 to continue pursuing
his career as a musician. However, to have something
to fall back on, he studied business at York University,
thinking he’d become an accountant.
He realized a business degree wasn’t necessary,
though, since a year after he came to Toronto, BMG
Music (now Sony BMG) offered him
major publishing deals. But David
didn’t feel that they were right for
his music and also didn’t have any
representation to protect his rights
at the time.
“I keep thinking, ‘Wow, I was only
21 then,’” said David. “But people can
make mistakes signing contracts like
that at a young age. I’m glad I didn’t
do it, because there have been bigger
openings now and I can properly consider
them.”
David quit his university program
and spent more time on songwriting
and recording. He found the process
of songwriting therapeutic. For a day
job, he taught the violin.
David reflected on the challenges
he faced growing up in a Conservative
Jewish family.
He said that he had many conflicts
with his parents as they had differing
viewpoints on career paths and more.
This is despite the fact that talent
for music runs in his family and his
mother, Asia, is a professional pianist
for the National Ballet of Canada.
Meanwhile, he was struggling to make it in his field in
general and not be affected by people trying to put him
down or rob him of his dreams.
“I started searching for answers from God and other
things,” he said. “It was like searching for inner peace,
and creating the songs was
a very spiritual process.”
David’s first major professional
performance
came in 2000 when he
was asked to accompany
Persian pop diva Googoosh
at her concert for 13,000
fans at the Air Canada
Centre. He performed with
her again the following
year, and both concerts
were released on DVD.
In July 2004, David
released his first album,
The Right Place. Following
its local success, he got
signed with DMI Records.
L a t e r t h a t y e a r , a
mutual friend introduced
David to vocalist David J
(a.k.a. Roberts). The two
decided to collaborate
and soon formed the Dan
David Band.
The band went on to play at sold-out concerts and at
private functions such as weddings and corporate events
across the province and in the United States.
Continuing to teach on the side, David created a
method book published in early 2006 called Violin Made
Easy, which includes more than 30 of his original compositions
and has been successful worldwide.
The Dan David Band released a second CD, There’s
Peace, in December 2007. David said that apart from
reflecting his own personal growth, all of his songs have
some Jewish connection. For example, the song Free
relates to soldiers returning home, while There’s Peace
is about believing in God and finding inner peace.
The new album gave his band a higher profile and has
led to larger gigs. Apart from performing for fundraisers
and political campaigns, the band played for the audience
of the hit television show Are You Smarter Than a
Canadian 5th Grader?
Earlier this year, the Dan David Band appeared on
Daystar Television, joining renowned American singer
Marty Goetz for a song and playing for an audience of
about 250 million across the United States
and Europe.
“I love performing and feel great energy
from the audience,” said David. “I could be
on the stage all day.
“In every performance that my band
does, we want to share a story with the audience,
and I really believe that the music
inspires people.”
Also working on music for films, David
has recorded multiple violin tracks for The
Story of Lydia. Released under Backstage
Productions International, the film was
inspired by the true story of Lydia Christensen
Prince, a Danish schoolteacher
who moved to Jerusalem in the early
1900s and started the first orphanage for
Jewish and Arabic children and over the
years adopted eight children.
The Dan David Band is currently considering
offers from major labels as it wants
to get its music released worldwide and to
tour internationally.
“I’m not happy enough yet with where
I’m at in my career,” said David. “I would
never pursue a music career just to get to
perform for people. I find that doesn’t have
enough meaning to it, and it eventually becomes just a
job like any other.
“I always felt that I had to do something big with it. I
haven’t inspired as many people as I want to.”
Dan David’s website address is www.dandavidmusic.
com.
From left, drummer Orchid Sarkar, Dan David, guitarist Benjamin Hackett and
Keyboardist Mia Cioffi of the Dan David Band.
Unwilling to give up on his dream of making it as a musician, David “started
searching for answers from God” and for “inner peace.” - Canadian Jewish News

myspace.com/dandavidmusic

Photo by Dalene

Review written by John Gavin

"Dan David, a Ukrainian Canadian Rock violinist from Markham, Ontario, recently released his second CD entitled, There's Peace, follow-up to his debut CD entitled, The Right Place in 2004. Dan has a Classical and a Celtic background which paves the way to a new style of music that is largely appreciated by listeners in North America and around the world. Not only is Dan a violinist, he is an established songwriter, violin teacher and a creator of a violin method book entitled, Violin Made Easy.

The CD is a masterpiece and contains 10 selections of unbelievable music. The CD offers both acoustic songs that have special healing effect on the listeners, and full band songs that enpower listeners greatly.

Here are the titles of the ten selections:

Strong-The First Ones Here-There's Peace-Fiddling In The Woods-Lost In A Moment's Dreams-Peaceful-Free-Green Green Grass-Viston Waltz and Green Sleeves.

Dan's band, Saved By Vision, accompanies him on the whole album, with vocals by lead singer, Dan J Demers. Other band members are Mark Baker, Trevor Lloyd and Gary Duke as well as other guest musicians.

The CD is a joy to listen to and every selection seems to get better and better. Atlantic Seabreeze has been following Dan's career from the beginning, and is excited about this new album, and can forsee that this album will place Dan on the next level to stardom. A full 5 Star rating by Atlantic Seabreeze for this great album. To purchase this album, refer to Dan's website address posted above. - Toronto Exclusive Magazine

Arts and entertainment
Jan 04, 2008 06:41 PM

Thornhill resident played on concert DVD performed at ACC
By: Simone Joseph

Find peace within and have the courage to explore new territory.

These are the messages in Thornhill resident Dan David’s new CD, There’s Peace.

Unlike his lower-budget debut disc, the acoustically flavoured The Right Place, There’s Peace has a full band including electric guitar, drums, percussion and cello.

The theme of peace and courage starts with the album’s first song, Strong.

“The song communicates that we can rise above our challenges. It has given me inspiration every day. On MySpace, the people who have been hearing it feel the same way,” he said.

Ukrainian-born, Mr. David, 30, lived in Israel and Montreal before moving to Richmond Hill in 1998 and Thornhill five years ago.

Mr. David started taking violin lessons at age seven, wrote his first song 11 years later, then attended McGill University’s faculty of music.

While working as a violin teacher, he created a violin playing book and play-along CD.

Often performing as an acoustic act with violin, guitar and vocals, Mr. David established the Celtic-influenced band Saved by a Vision.

His most memorable performance was in the summer of 2000 with Persian pop diva Googoosh. What made the performance with the Iranian super star so memorable?

“Just to see how much the music inspired the audience. We were all part of it,” Mr. David recalled.

“The audience knew the lyrics and was singing along.”

The concert was in the Air Canada Center with more than 13,000 fans. He accompanied Googoosh at the Air Canada Centre a year later and this concert, like the first, was released on DVD.

Another memorable performance was in October when Mr. David and Saved by a Vision performed for the audience of the TV show Are You Smarter Than a Canadian Fifth Grader.

The band was hired by Global to entertain the audience, but did not appear on camera.

Mr. David’s biggest musical influences include John Lennon, and Canadian bands Sloan and Our Lady Peace, but Mr. David said “I have started finding inspiration from within”.

There’s Peace should be in Indigo and HMV outlets by early February. - York Region News Group

Dan David (born December 28, 1977) is a Thornhill based (Canadian Ukrainian) composer and musician who plays the violin.

He started playing at the age of seven and shortly after completing a music degree, he became a songwriter and used the violin to create full band rock and pop songs. In his teens, he studied with teachers Tom Williams and Sonia Jelinkova at McGill in Montreal. He then moved to Toronto in 1998.

He released his First CD, [The Right Place, in 2004 and his new CD, There's Peace]Toronto Exclusive Magazine interview, with nationwide distribution from Indigo/Indiepool Canada in 2007.

Dan David (Dan Aronovich) played for Googoosh on her 2000 and 2001 world tour, as violinist. The first performance was Held at the Air Canada Centre, in Toronto. He was later asked to lead string recordings for [her single in 2003 http://www.googooshmusic.com ].

With the release of his own music and his second CD in 2007, he played for the Hit show, “are you smarter than a Canadian 5th grader?” airing on Global TV. Dan David also got involved in Political campaigns that year, and has since played for, among few: the Mayors of York Region, the [GREEN PARTY http://www.gpo.ca], The Liberals, and for news Veteran [Peter Kent's http://www.peterkent.ca] conservative party campaign. Dan also played for a national protest broadcast on CTV and CBC stations to save a Richmond Hill based centre (a planetarium) used for discovery and research.

Dan David went on his own first tour in July 2008 playing in Canada and the United States and appeared[1] on [Daystar www.daystar.com] National Television, playing several times during the 2 hour broadcast which reportedly went out to over 100 Million homes.

Dan David constantly collaborates with other artists and notable musicians. Since performing with Persian diva Googoosh in July 2000, at the air canada centre, Dan has worked with, among a few: Pedro Eustache, Goetz, Babak Amini, Charles Amore, Ted Pearce, and many others.

Notable Concert performances and features include:

* He played at the Prestigious Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, in August 2008, playing for a world peace event with his music and band.
* Played at the Rogers Centre with an attendance of nearly 30,000 for Heaven’s Rehearsal 2008, a full 3 hour Concert that is released on DVD .

Dan David is also the Author of two books, Violin Made Easy and Scales Made Easy, published by Mayfair Montgomery Publishing, the international publishing home of Leila Fletcher’s piano books.

Discography
(can be purchased using the link)

* The Right Place (2004)
* Violin Made Easy, a play along CD (2006 Music Box Dancer)
* There’s Peace (2008, Indigo Nationwide)

DVD releases

* Googoosh in Toronto (2001 Kia)
* Christmas Special (2006 Crossroads)
* Celebration (2008 Daystar)
* Heaven’s Rehearsal 2008 (Rogers Centre, 2008)
* House of David, 2009 (Vision TV)

External links

* Dan David interview with Canadian Jewish News
* CBC RADIO
* Mayfair Montgomery David’s Books Publisher
- Wikipedia

Arts and entertainment
January 04, 2008 06:41 PM

Thornhill resident played on concert DVD performed at ACC
Simone Joseph
Find peace within and have the courage to explore new territory.

These are the messages in Thornhill resident Dan David’s new CD, There’s Peace.

Unlike his lower-budget debut disc, the acoustically flavoured The Right Place, There’s Peace has a full band including electric guitar, drums, percussion and cello.

The theme of peace and courage starts with the album’s first song, Strong.

“The song communicates that we can rise above our challenges. It has given me inspiration every day. On MySpace, the people who have been hearing it feel the same way,” he said.

Ukrainian-born, Mr. David, 30, lived in Israel and Montreal before moving to Richmond Hill in 1998 and Thornhill five years ago.

Mr. David started taking violin lessons at age seven, wrote his first song 11 years later, then attended McGill University’s faculty of music.

While working as a violin teacher, he created a violin playing book and play-along CD.

Often performing as an acoustic act with violin, guitar and vocals, Mr. David established the Celtic-influenced band Saved by a Vision.

His most memorable performance was in the summer of 2000 with Persian pop diva Googoosh. What made the performance with the Iranian super star so memorable?

“Just to see how much the music inspired the audience. We were all part of it,” Mr. David recalled.

“The audience knew the lyrics and was singing along.”

The concert was in the Air Canada Center with more than 13,000 fans. He accompanied Googoosh at the Air Canada Centre a year later and this concert, like the first, was released on DVD.

Another memorable performance was in October when Mr. David and Saved by a Vision performed for the audience of the TV show Are You Smarter Than a Canadian Fifth Grader.

The band was hired by Global to entertain the audience, but did not appear on camera.

Mr. David’s biggest musical influences include John Lennon, and Canadian bands Sloan and Our Lady Peace, but Mr. David said “I have started finding inspiration from within”.

There’s Peace should be in Indigo and HMV outlets by early February. - The Economist