David D'Or

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David D'Or (Hebrew: דוד ד'אור b. 1966 in Holon, Israel) as David Nehaisi, is an Israeli countertenor.

He performs both classical and modern repertoire, often composing pieces for his own performance (in either classical or modern fashion, the latter employing his speaking—or chest—voice, instead of his singing, alto voice). D’Or has performed with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Rome Philharmonic, and the Budapest Philharmonic. D'Or has performed in the USA, Italy, Israel, Germany, Hungary, Turkey, Australia and Sweden. [1]

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[edit] Voice

D'Or is notable for his unique tone and color, and having a very recognizable sound. His voice is characterized by fullness and richness, making it seem as though it was his natural singing voice, created without use of the falsetto technique. However, despite its richness his voice cannot be compared to the color of a contralto, unlike singers such as David Daniels, given that D'Or has a unique, male-sounding timbre. His vocal range in head-voice is from G3 in scientific pitch notation, up to a well-defined G5 (as heard in one of the final notes in the "Phantom of the Opera" track in his album "David D'Or and the Philharmonic"), thus making him a "mezzo-soprano" type of Countertenor.

[edit] Training

He was professionally trained at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance under the tutoring of Soprano Miriam Melzer.

[edit] Career highlights

During his military service, D'Or served as a singer in the Military Band and in 1985 he was in the Israeli Army Central Command troops entertainment group, and took part in the record "Be'sha'araikh yerikho."

After completing his army service, he was invited by the Israeli National Theater (“Habima Theater”) to be in various performances, among them “Blood Marriage,” “Cabaret,” and “Tartiff." In 1991 D'Or enrolled in the Jerusalem Conservatory.

In 1991 D'Or also began his musical career as a classical tenor. Zubin Mehta, director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, invited D’Or to perform as soloist in “Carmina Burana.” In 1992 D’Or released his first album: "David D'Or.” D’Or worked with Habima Theater for 4 years.

In 1995 he released a new album -- “David & Shlomo.” That year he also received an invitation from the Vatican to perform for the Pope. His repertoire at this concert united original ethnic music with European classics. After performing for the Pope in 1995, D'Or was invited to act in Italy, where he took part in several teleshows on the First Italian TV Channel and 2nd Italian TV Channel.

In 1997 D'Or and Etti Ankri released his third and perhaps most popular album -- “David D’Or & Etti Ankri.” In 1999 he released “Begovah Mishtan.”

In 2001 D’Or was named Israel's “Singer of the Year.” Also, he has been named “Best Vocal Performer.” Of his five albums, four have become platinum, and one gold. His fifth album was “Baneshama,” released in 2001. Besides these albums, D’Or has released another two albums -- “David D’Or & The Philharmonic” and “Raanana Symphonette Orchestra.”

D'Or represented Israel in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in Istanbul with the song "Le'ha'amin" ("To Believe").

David D'Or was invited by Dr. Martin Luther King III to sing at the 2008 REALIZE THE DREAM celebration honoring Dr. King's Birthday at the Covenant Ave. Baptist Church in Harlem. This was the last church in NYC that Dr. King spoke at prior to his tragic death. David sang for Dr. King at a Middle East Peace Initiate (MEPI) Conference in the summer of 2007 in Tel Aviv, and Dr. King was so impressed that he extended the invitation to DD at that time.[1]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ President Clinton gives DD a big hug after the performance and Dr. MLK III was in tears as DD finished his rendition of "Summertime." The crowd was on their feet cheering. The church choir asked DD to come back to a concert.

[edit] External links