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Armed with a bachelor's of music with honours distinction in composition and jazz studies (specializing in percussion), David Kerr attacks music on all fronts from theory and thoughtfulness to groove and evocation.
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Biography
Biography
Newfoundland-born composer, percussionist, and singer-songwriter David Kerr (b. 2000), has been composing for almost as long as he has been playing — garnering experience since as early as 2010. Having an affinity for metal and jazz, he focuses largely on the participatory attractiveness of his music (be it corporeal or incorporeal). Meaning he seeks to inspire physical motion/movement through groove or a strong emotional reaction through evocative musical devices.
On the popular music front, Kerr stylistically pins the emotional duress of post-hardcore and midwest-emo against the harmonic and conceptual creativity of progressive metal and jazz fusion, exploring the limits of what acoustic music can be while looking to bring a unique tone and perspective to familiar emotions and sentiments that are scarcely put to words. In this pursuit, he can be heard drawing inspiration from the likes of Claude Debussey, Ney Rosauro, Nikolai Kapustin, Periphery, Hot Mulligan, and Bilmuri. Mixing his diverse musical background and experience with playful yet vulnerable lyricism, he strives to bring his new, personal, creative twist to whatever genre he endeavors to explore.
Kerr reveled in the tutelage of Rob Power, Bill Brennan, Dr. Andrew Staniland, Dr. Clark Ross, and Florian Hoefner at Memorial University of Newfoundland in the graduating class of 2022 — earning himself a Bachelor of Music with Honours distinction in composition with a minor in jazz studies and a specialization in percussion. He has pursued further study with Jon Lane, Evan Smith, various coaches under Canadian Musicians Co-operative, and as many educational workshops as he can gain access to.
He is currently working on his debut EP "Headwinds," to be released in the summer of 2025.
Experience
Experience
As a performer, Kerr has had the privilege of playing with such ensembles as the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Armed Forces, Ceremonial Guard, Signal Hill Tattoo, MUN Jazz Band, MUN Percussion Ensemble, MUN Gamelan, MUN Chamber Choir, MUN Festival Choir, Suara Choir, CBS Jazz Band, Rotary Jazz Band, Newfoundland Symphony Youth Orchestra (now Calos), Shep, Home By 10, Seraka, various one-off jazz combos and intimate acoustic ensembles, and in pit ensembles for musical productions with Spirit of Newfoundland, Holy Heart of Mary High School, and O’Donnell High School.
He has also had the pleasure of performing locally in sold-out venues ranging from The Rock House to the Arts and Culture Centre and internationally as far as Hawaii for the Pacific Basin Music Festival and Ireland for a culture sharing initiative.
His original compositions have been performed by members of such ensembles as the PhoeNX Ensemble, Trinitas Ensemble, TorQ, National Arts Centre Orchestra, as well as individuals such as pianist Grace Lizan, Stella Hui, and himself.
Accolades and Featured Recordings
Accolades and Featured Recordings
Kerr has been the recipient of such distinctions as: an ArtsNL performing artist grant in 2022; a plethora of scholarships during his time at Memorial University of Newfoundland including the Bethany Danielle Pike Memorial Award for Music, the Equinor ArtsSmarts Scholarship, and the Clifford Crawley Music Composition Award; two 2018 Rotary Music Festival Honours distinctions; and the 2015 Distinguished Music award from St. Paul’s Junior High.
Additionally he has been featured on Jocelyn Leigh's "Famous To You," Gwyneth Covey's "Seasons," Venator's "Gang" and "Power of the Purple Flame," the Canadian Armed Forces 1st Royal Newfoundland Regiment Band’s “The Arms of Home,” and Home By Ten’s “HB10.”
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