David Gordon has always led two parallel musical lives.
For decades David was a distinguished classical tenor soloist with great opera companies and symphonies around the globe (bio). And he's also an acoustic guitarist with an eclectic, offbeat repertoire.
These days David no longer sings on the classical stage, but he is still quite securely strapped to his guitar.
Drawing on a lifetime of concerts and centuries of music, David creates unique programs of songs and poetry interwoven with colorful historical narrative.
David's shows are vivid, dramatic presentations characterized by a keen sense of drama, deep scholarship, whimsy, and his endearing and powerful ability to tell stories and connect with the audience.
Click on the program titles below for more info,
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Hard Times - Songs of Justice and Conscience
150 years of songs – a hard-hitting, progressive commentary on the importance of compassion, courage, generosity, taking action, believing in the future, and hope. With a touch of bittersweet humor, these songs calm the mind and strengthen the heart.
Singing My Heart Out - Songs of Hope and Strength
After six decades of concerts, this is a personal retrospective of David's favorite and most comforting, uplifting songs. The playlist covers more than a century, and is designed to open hearts, generate laughs, and share the power of music and the joys of living and love.
Wait for the Wagon - Songs & Stories from 19th-Century America
In the 19th century America was filled with music, and these songs were popular in the USA between 1840 and 1880: the "Greatest Hits" from the era of the Oregon Trail, the Gold Rush, and the Civil War. You will learn the real names of the Man on the Flying Trapeze and the teenage girl who wrote Rock-a-Bye Baby.
Land of Heart's Desire - Songs and Poems of Longing for a Better World
A dramatic and thought-provoking concert inspired by the lives of American poet Robinson Jeffers and his wife, Una. It's a surprising playlist of 19th and 20th century songs and poems of yearning, struggle, and hope. The program was originally created for concerts in the Jeffers' home, now a unique museum in Carmel, California.
Will Ye No Come Back Again - Scottish Songs & Poems (January 2024)
David's family roots are in the Highlands of Scotland, and in this concert he shares Scottish songs and poetry from the 18th and 19th centuries, with a focus on Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Burns, and Carolina Oliphant, a contemporary of Burns.
It's a combination of lyrical ballads, spooky tales, spirited songs of battles and freedom, and colorful history.
Dear Harp of My Country - Irish Songs & Poems (coming March 2024)
A colorful bouquet of 18th and 19th Century Irish poetry and song - passionate and noble ballads about love, loss, adventure, and highway robbery, all interwoven with historical narration and classic poetry by Thomas Moore, the mystical William Butler Yeats, and other Irish bards.
Dear Friends & Gentle Hearts - The True Life of Stephen Foster
A myth-busting and poignant narration of the life of America's first great songwriter, with songs performed in the order in which they were written. In his tragically short life, Stephen Foster turned away from his early, coarse minstrel songs and produced ballads of beauty and compassion. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass called some of them "heart songs."
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Listen to 25 audio tracks from recent live concerts
Outside the Box: audio of a live concert in Carmel
Watch a few videos from concerts and livestreams
