I am David Shapiro, a musician living, composing, and teaching in Philadelphia.

My Music explores and integrates diverse musical styles, driven by rhythm. I find music that displays complex interweaving rhythmic layers to be fun and stimulating. Like, for example, the music of Bartok and the Afro-European group Zap Mama. I also enjoy the systematically altering rhythmic patterns in the music of composers such as Steve Reich, Elliott Carter and Conlon Nancarrow.

My own work often starts as a scribbled rhythmic sketch in the corner of a book or piece of scrap paper. I then play around with that idea, adapting it to various musical genres and styles that I know and love. Each piece takes on a shape and life from there.

I am trilled to have composed for some of the most extraordinary musicians and ensembles of our time: The Crossing, Lyric Fest, Mark Markham, Variant 6, Max Brod Trio, and the Philadelphia SIngers.

I completed my Doctorate in Composition at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in 1996. Prior to that I studied Classical Piano at Vassar College and the Royal Academy in London, and Jazz Piano with Ellis Marsalis in New Orleans. I’ve taught World Music, conducted choirs and orchestras, and performed in a top-40 cover band.

As a music teacher in the Philadelphia School District I have brought my own compositions and arrangements to students in the choirs and the classroom. Sharing music and musical styles from around the globe allows me to invite students to explore, share and pursue their own musical interests. And I continually learn from the new musical styles my students bring to class.

I invite you to explore my work through the selections on this site. If you are interested in a full catalogue of my work, would like to discuss a future project, or want to perform something I’ve written, please contact me via the contact form below, or email me at dashapiro.composer@gmail.com. Thanks!

Recordings & Videos

NEW RELEASE (Nov 2023)

commissioned by The Crossing (2022)

A Capella Choir | 16 Movements | 4 to 12 parts | 70 Min | Text by Richard Dawkins & Richard Feynman

Premiered by: The Crossing

“Shapiro, in a stroke of daring subversion, brings the mystery and reverence of the mass tradition to the absolute rationality of the texts.” (American Record Guide, March/April 2024)

It Is Time - Paul Celan

commissioned by The Crossing (2009)

A Capella Choir | SSATBB | 6 min | Text by Paul Celan

Premiered by: The Crossing, and subsequently performed by Variant 6 (2020) | Northwestern Chamber Choir | Volti, San Francisco (2012)

I heard a Bluebird Singing - Walt Whitman

commissioned by Lyric Fest (2019)

Tenor, Double Bass, Violin & Piano | | 4 min | Text by Walt Whitman

Premiered by: Lyric Fest