About David Hayes

David Hayes is a conductor with an unusually broad range of repertory, spanning the symphonic, oratorio/choral and operatic genres.

David Hayes is a conductor with an unusually broad range of repertory, spanning the symphonic, oratorio/choral and operatic genres.

His role as Music Director of NYCHORAL (New York Choral Society) complements his other roles as Director of Orchestral and Conducting Studies at the Mannes School of Music, Music Director of the Mannes Orchestra and Staff Conductor of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. The 2019-2020 season marks Mr. Hayes’ eighth season as NYCHORAL Music Director.

NYCHORAL Dress Rehearsal Nov. 2018
NYCHORAL Dress Rehearsal Nov. 2018

Equally at home both orchestrally and vocally, Mr. Hayes is frequently in demand as guest conductor. Recent engagements included orchestral conducting masterclasses at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in November 2019, and a fifth consecutive year guest conducting with Serenades Choral in Italy and Spain. He also conducted the Mannes Orchestra in Nov. 2019 with MET opera star Anthony Roth Costanzo at the Brooklyn Museum to celebrate the opening of Philip Glass’s opera Akhnaten.

Past operatic engagements included a production of Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore for Opera Memphis, Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and the East Coast premiere performances of Tan Dun’s Tea: A Mirror of Soul for Opera Philadelphia as well as a new production of Massenet’s Manon for the Curtis Opera Theatre, with whom he has led numerous performances since 1990. In addition, Mr. Hayes also conducted the 90th Anniversary Gala performances of the Martha Graham Dance Company at New York City Center in April 2016 and has continued to collaborate with the Martha Graham Dance Company, performing with them on a bi-annual basis.

Martha Graham Dance Company, City Center, April 2018
Martha Graham Dance Company, City Center, April 2018

Mr. Hayes served on the conducting staff of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2001-2011. In May 2015, he completed twenty-three years as Music Director of the critically acclaimed professional vocal ensemble The Philadelphia Singers, which was the resident chorus of The Philadelphia Orchestra from 2000-2011. Between 1992 and 2015, he prepared choruses for the Philadelphia Orchestra on countless occasions and his ensemble joined with The Philadelphia Orchestra in recording Beethoven’s 9th Symphony; Mahler’s 2nd and 8th Symphonies with Christoph Eschenbach; Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette with Charles Dutoit. 

David Hayes with With Christoph Eschenbach
With Christoph Eschenbach

In addition, The Philadelphia Singers made the World premiere recording of Randall Thompson’s Requiem under Mr. Hayes’ direction, which has received uniformly excellent reviews.

Mr. Hayes served as Interim Director of Orchestras for Temple University during the 2014-15 season and has remained a frequent guest conductor with the Temple University Orchestra. He has also served as a cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic as well as for Sir Andre Previn on the Curtis Symphony Orchestra’s 1999 European Tour with Anne-Sophie Mutter.

Mr. Hayes is one of the creators of and has been lead faculty for the past four years of the annual Chorus America Conducting Academy, a week-long choral/orchestral program which alternates between Cal State Fullerton and the University of Michigan.

Teaching a master class at Chorus America Cal State
Teaching a master class at Chorus America Cal State

CA Conducting Academy 2019 Faculty at Univ Michigan, Ann Arbor – Duain Wolfe (Chi. Symphony Chorus Dir), Lucinda Carver (Vice Dean of Classical Perfornace USC), David Hayes, John Alexander (Music Dir, Emeritus, Pacific Chorale)
CA Conducting Academy 2019 Faculty at Univ Michigan, Ann Arbor – Duain Wolfe (Chi. Symphony Chorus Dir), Lucinda Carver (Vice Dean of Classical Perfornace USC), David Hayes, John Alexander (Music Dir, Emeritus, Pacific Chorale)

Mr. Hayes’s guest conducting engagements have included concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Trois-Rivières, the Lancaster (PA) Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana Philharmonic, The Relâche Ensemble, the Rutgers Orchestra, The Curtis Symphony Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, the Indiana University Philharmonia Orchestra, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Memphis, Curtis Opera Theatre, the European Center for Opera and Voice in Ghent, Belgium; the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh; The Los Angeles Master Chorale and a Kennedy Center debut with the Washington Chorus and Orchestra (which included members of the National Symphony Orchestra).

Mr. Hayes made his debut at the Verbier Festival with the Curtis Orchestra and has made several appearances with the Springfield (MA) Symphony Orchestra at the Berkshire Choral Festival.

Mr. Hayes has collaborated with some of the world’s finest soloists including Roberto Diàz, Vladimir Feltsman, Haijing Fu, Evelyn Glennie, Gary Graffman, Hillary Hahn, Jennifer Koh, Meng-Chieh Liu, Alan Morrison, Paolo Bordignon, William Burden, Alan Held, Hather Johnson, Nancy Maultsby, Jarrett Ott, Benjamin Bliss, Sarah Shafer, Meredith Arwady and Rinat Shaham. In addition, Mr. Hayes has a strong commitment to nourishing contemporary music and frequently collaborates with composers. Among the notable composers with whom he has collaborated are: Tan Dun, Jennifer Higdon, Frank Ticheli, Ezra Laderman, Sir James MacMillan, Paul Moravec, Bright Sheng, Christopher Theofanidis and Chen Yi, among many others. In the world of popular artists, Mr. Hayes has conducted concerts with Billy Joel, Blue Man Group and John Lithgow.

Frank Ticheli
Frank Ticheli

Trained as a violinist and violist, Mr. Hayes received his Bachelor of Music in musicology from the University of Hartford and a diploma in Orchestral Conducting from the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Otto-Werner Mueller. He also studied with Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School. Mr. Hayes served on the Board of Directors of Chorus America from 2000-2009 and re-joined the Chorus America Board of Directors in June 2016.


Curriculum Vitae

David Hayes
New York, NY

Education

1989

The Curtis Institute of Music
Diploma, Orchestral Conducting

1986

University of Hartford, Hartt School of Music
Bachelor of Music, cum laude, Musicology

1982-1986

Pierre Monteux School for Conductors
Studies in Conducting

Academic Appointments

2002 – Present Mannes School of Music, New School University
Music Director, Mannes Orchestra
Director of Orchestral and Conducting Studies
Professor of Professional Practice, Mannes School of Music

1990 – Present

The Curtis Institute of Music
Staff Conductor/Faculty

2014 – 2015

Boyer College of Music, Temple University
Interim Director of Orchestras

1999 – 2002

Mannes School of Music, New School University
Associate Conductor, Mannes Orchestra
Assistant Professor, Mannes School of Music

Professional Appointments

2012 – Present

New York Choral Society (NYCHORAL)
Music Director

2007 – 2008

The Washington Chorus
Artistic Advisor

2001 – 2011

The Philadelphia Orchestra