Don’t dare to show your dreams to David Drummond unless you want someone to believe in them with you.
As a professional opera singer with a world class pedigree, I knew how impressive his conducting bio was. But what I couldn’t have anticipated was how open, willing, creative and dedicated he is to helping artists exceed their own expectations musically.
As a vocal coach he is clear, exacting, patient, encouraging and most of all enthusiastic.
He IS music, and open to all expressions of it within an educated, experienced and intuitive framework. He is completely trustworthy.
He showed me high standards, and his expectation that they were attainable made me reach beyond my limits. I’ve seen him work miracles with choirs in this aspect. And he’s FUN.
But he’s also a visionary. Which leads me back to that dream thing…when I dared to show him a musical I’d composed that needed an arranger; he whole heartedly embraced the project and made my dream a reality that far exceeded my expectations. He has a healthy understanding of his worth, but is not ego driven. The work and artistry is what fuels him. Collaborating with him in any musical capacity has been among my greatest joys as an artist. 

I cannot say enough about the pleasures of working with Maestro Drummond; his coaching and lessons are a true treat, and are ALWAYS a reinvigorating artistic experience.
Channelled through an authentic expression of contagious passion and intense energy, he is able to isolate and encourage the unique aspects of the singer that will make their interpretation special, in a way that heightens the intentions of the music (not that detracts from it). In my career, I have not seen this balance handled so deliberately by a coach - owning the performance practice of a piece, while feeling liberated in my own artistic expression. I truly cannot recommend working with David highly enough.

Ever since I first heard of David's work with Pocket and saw the performance of La Belle Helene in Berkeley I just had a feeling that working with him would be a wonderful experience! I'm so thankful to have met him, and what a treat to have gotten to work with him on such an interesting/challenging/fun/unique project! :) I did so appreciate his willingness and ability to create such a beautiful translation for the Rusalka.
I believe he made my job easier by communicating his ideas so clearly and carefully! He is contagiously sincere and his love for his craft is impressive to say the least. To collaborate with him was an honor.

Thank you so much for your commitment to this production and to each of us as artists.  I have truly learned so much from you, and I sincerely hope we get the chance to work together again.
I have been blown away by what I've gained musically from you - THANK YOU for pushing us to excellence!

David is a passionate, energetic, enthusiastic and thorough coach. In our one-on-one work he was efficient and intentional with feedback, guiding my artistry towards authentic musical interpretation, while tuning up my accuracy without condescension or judgement.
In rehearsals, I have also been amazed by Maestro Drummond's patience with young singers and beginners, pacing of rehearsal, and respect for everyone's time.

I so enjoyed my coaching work with David in the two productions we did together.  His knowledge of the material, his willingness to play with and explore ideas, and his ability to offer clear direction for improvement - not to mention his humor and general affability - made him a joy to work with.

I’ve been working with David as my coach for a little over 5 years. He has helped me immensely as I’ve navigated my way through countless auditions, callbacks, hearings, and recital and role preparation. I find his methods to be productive and practical. David has a keen ear for intonation and great ways of imbuing rhythm into a piece, allowing for accuracy in the score with artistic flexibility for the singer. David’s coaching practices have taken my performances to the next level and allowed me to feel fully secure in my singing and acting abilities. 

I am so grateful for all the time, support, encouragement and joy you have given me. I have found your guidance inspiring, exciting and highly motivating. I meant only to dip my toe in the water with this Violetta - just to see if it were possible for me - and so the opportunity to work at such a deliciously high standard is one that I will cherish for a long time.

“Storan's chorus master exceeded expectations as an extremely authoritative pianist in Brahms first cello sonata.”

This is official fan mail from the costume dept (me):

Wow! The little bit of music rehearsal I heard last night sounds amazing! And through masks yet. Loved hearing your notes to the singers - so much insight into the lyrics, so much finesse - we are exceptionally lucky to have you on this project.

Melissa Wortman - Lamplighters Costumier

You and Christina love Brahms and Schubert and your performances show this and won over a lot people who had come out of friendship and hadn't heard Lieder before!  They were all saying how lovely and special the music was.

The programme was stunning: you talked so easily to the audience who immediately warmed to you, and what you said to us was just right at the time, but your charm and modesty, warmth, kindness and shining intelligence all shone through and added immeasurably to the evening.

Eleanor Steinitz