Bio
Dr. David Guidi has garnered national attention for his contributions as a saxophonist and composer. He currently serves as the Director of Upper School at Fayetteville Academy in Fayetteville, North Carolina where he is a member of the senior leadership team and oversees all operations of the Upper School. He was previously the Fine Arts Department Chair and Assistant Dean of Students at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School, and has also taught a variety of courses at Southwestern University, The University of Texas at Austin, and Florida State University.
A Bari Woodwinds endorser, David was first identified as a rising musician in 2001 when he was one of a select group of promising jazz musicians invited to attend the prestigious Steans Institute in Chicago. Referred to as a “Significant young artist, clearly committed to a long life of jazz” (Jazzreview.com) and “Someone to watch carefully in the future” (Cadence Magazine), he performs and writes with a harmonic edge deeply rooted in the jazz lineage.
David has been recognized in numerous composition contests and was selected winner of one of the 2005 ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Awards, later being asked to represent the ASCAP foundation in a performance at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola at Lincoln Center. He has performed across the nation, in Europe, and Canada, alongside some of the world’s most celebrated jazz musicians, including Dave Brubeck, Hank Jones, Jason Marsalis, Marcus Printup, Tito Puente, Eric Reed, Marcus Roberts, Clark Terry, Ron Westray, and many others.
A past student of the revered saxophonist, Bunky Green, David was a member of several high-powered collegiate ensembles recognized by Downbeat awards, and holds degrees from the University of North Florida (BM-Jazz Studies), Florida State University (MM-Jazz Studies), and The University of Texas at Austin (DMA-Jazz Composition). As an arranger and composer, he enjoys the opportunity to write for a wide array of musical styles and venues, including small and large jazz ensembles, marching band, concert band, various string ensembles, and orchestra. Many of his compositions for jazz band are published with Ejazzlines, and previously, Walrus Music Publishing.
Happy and proud to have a musical family, his wife, Shana, started Austin’s Monarch Suzuki Academy, and their daughters, Charlotte and Eleanor, are boisterous and joyful young musicians.
Banner photo by Mike Gallatin Photography