Priam David

Priam David is a freelance composer, audio engineer, and piano teacher based in Montreal, Canada. He completed his McGill Master's of Composition in the winter of 2022 under the mentorship of Jean Lesage and Brian Cherney. Priam's creative journey led him to become the resident composer for the McGill saxophone quartet and the Contemporary Music Ensemble (CME), culminating in the premiere of his saxophone quartet A Bee in Your Bonnet (2018) and Crooked and Uncanny (2022), a piece for amplified mezzo-soprano and 14 players. Notably, his solo piano piece titled Sonorités pour l'oreille douloureuse (2021) received the Semifinalist award at the NYC Contemporary Music Symposium 2021. Priam's most recent premieres include Front and Centre, a percussion and oboe composition performed at the soundSCAPE Festival 2022 in Bobbio, Italy, as well as his one-act opera for mezzo-soprano, The Girl Who Loved to Dance (2022), showcased in Halifax.

Apart from his compositions, Priam gained extensive experience in various areas of audio production and recording during his time at McGill, including live audio mixing, studio recording sessions, sound design for musique concrète, and mixing and mastering. Since graduating, Priam has continued to work in the audio field, collaborating with local artists on their upcoming albums and lending his expertise in sound design and music composition to commercials and independent filmmakers.

In his piano studies, Priam learned from the accomplished pianist Julia Gavrilova, gaining valuable insights into proper piano technique and pedagogy. As a piano teacher, Priam strives to create a safe and nurturing space where students feel comfortable to learn, make mistakes, and persevere.

Currently, Priam does freelance work as a composer and audio engineer, and teaches part-time at the Vanier Music School.