What if nothing was more important than sharing, hearing, and honoring
one another’s voices?
That’s the world I want to live in.
I want to sing out my true sounds and songs.
And I want to hear yours.
There is music that needs you to be sung.
ABOUT
Hi, I’m David. I’m a vocalist, dancer, actor, community leader and teacher with a passion for authentic expression. I love creating space for our voices to emerge.
I offer somatically-grounded, holistic voice lessons for individuals and workshops for groups, supporting students in work of creative and personal fulfillment. My approach is inspired by a diverse background, but especially my studies with Etheyln Friend and other Roy Hart Center voice teachers, as well as vocal improvisation, particularly at present with Rhiannon. I’ve also been very influenced by the work of Voice Movement Therapy. I combine these resources with tools and techniques learned from over 20 plus years of performing arts, teaching and counseling experience. (Read about my Education and Training and the Roy Hart Center tradition)
I greatly value my years of study in classical voice and musical theater, but I came to realize that the voice is too personal and powerful to be put in any “voice box.” Yes, boxes can offer support, but they also can lead to disconnection from our truth.
When we connect with our voices and bodies, in the moment, then our truths – our feelings, creativity, sounds, etc. – emerge more freely. In this way, we become our own best teachers. It’s my joy to support clients in accessing this connection and in harvesting the, essentially, limitless learning and authentic vocal expression, therein.
Learn more about voice lessons or contact me to book an introductory session.
Learn more about my own creative expression as a performing artist.
MY STORY
My mother swears I sang all day as a baby, long before I spoke…
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And I continued to sing through my childhood and youth, followed by studies at Northwestern University’s School of Music and a career in Broadway musical theater in New York City. I took great joy in my voice and in the privilege of sharing it professionally. I also struggled, as a performer, with perfectionism and self-criticism. In the meantime, I was seeking a greater purpose - a “more substantial” way, I imagined, to respond to the great needs of our world.
My seeking led me from show business to Harvard Divinity School and ministry in the Unitarian Universalist tradition. On this new path, I got to explore, grow and give in ways I never had before. For some years I felt I was, indeed, living out a deeper call. But my performance drive followed me and I found I couldn’t sustain this way of serving others without burning out myself. Honoring the need for renewal and reflection, I stepped away from full-time ministry. Setting down performance expectations, I followed my heart back to nature, explored farming, outdoor education, youth work and other community programming. And I made more time for music.
Then came Covid. Suddenly I not only had more time for music, I needed it badly. I had to do what brought me most alive, to survive. I had to sing. With the support of a new voice teacher, Ethelyn Friend, I remembered my voice as the home it’s always been — a personal and powerful somatic pathway for connection with self and others through creative expression – “the muscle of the soul,” as Alfred Wolfsohn put it. And in singing and sharing my voice, anew, I also felt a clear call to share the gift of “singing my way home” with others. I began offering voice lessons, community singing gatherings and workshops.
I am excited to work with those who long to drop their self-criticism and allow their own authentic voices to shine; those who have sung all their lives and also those who have been quiet, waiting or wondering; and with anyone who is ready to embrace their own aliveness as a gift worth investing in – a gift the world needs from them.
If this resonates, I look forward to hearing from you.
What if nothing was more important than sharing, hearing, and honoring one another’s authentic voices? That’s the world I want to live in. I want to sing my true songs. And I want to hear yours.
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
Contact ME to learn more about MY approach to voice work and to book aN introductory voice lesson.TEACHER
“The voice is the muscle of the soul.”
Do you sense there’s more to your voice than you’ve yet experienced?
Do you love to sing but haven’t let yourself take it seriously?
Are you a practiced singer who wants to unlock even more creativity and authenticity in performing? Or learn to improvise with confidence?
Does singing feel filled with potential for joy and freedom… if it only wasn’t so darn terrifying?!
Do you long to know and express yourself more fully and freely?
VOICE LESSONS
Your voice is you, vibrating your own powerful particularity into the world. What would it be like to approach your voice that way? What might the world, and you, get to hear from you?
My commitment as a teacher is to help students inhabit their fullest vocal expression, and discover the resonance this can have across life. Whether you identify as a performer or are drawn to voice work for other reasons, if your voice is longing to break out of its “voice box,” I would love to support you.
While particularly inspired by my training with Etheyln Friend, of the Roy Hart Center, and recent training and practice in vocal improvisation with Rhiannon, among others, I also draw from years of focused study in classical technique and musical theater performance, from movement and mindfulness practices and somatics, and from my background in outdoor education, ministry and counseling.
Because every client is different, I prioritize listening to you, in all ways possible. In any session there are a myriad of ways into the work: Explorations of vocal sound and/or resonance in the body, feelings or images, movement, vocal improvisation, vocal limits/obstacles, or even a personal challenge or question. And, of course, many clients regularly work with specific pieces, songs or texts. I help you to discern direction but it is your curiosity that guides our work.
“With David’s wonderful ability to be present as a guide and kind witness, I have experienced the freedom to explore how my voice is inextricably connected to the rest of my body and being. Working with David, I have been learning how to find and truly hear my own voice.”
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The sky's the limit of our explorations, but these are some areas to which I bring particular experience.
improvisation / composition
musical theater
classical voice, opera, art song
exploring voice in movement / dance
youth/young adult mentoring
healing and personal growth work*
*For many folks drawn to vocal study, the reverberations in personal life are an unexpected “bonus.” But embracing this as an entry point can be powerful. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re curious to discuss this further.
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Become a more confident and compelling singer
Learn and perform songs (or texts) you love
Improvise and/or compose new music
More range, freedom and fullness of vocal expression
More joy and aliveness in your voice
Greater connection with your body
Enlivening connection with self
Meaningful authentic connection with others
New creative energy and inspiration
Healing and personal growth
Contact ME to book an introductory session and/or to learn more about individual instruction, group classes and upcoming workshops.THE ROY HART APPROACH TO VOICE WORK
Since becoming a student of Ethelyn Friend, of the Roy Hart Center, I have found the technique she’s shared with me to be invaluable. I’ve also delved into immersive training with several other Roy Hart Center teachers at the Centre Artistique International Roy Hart in France. The approaches of Roy Hart Center teachers are varied but they share a compelling background.
Roy Hart was an actor who, inspired by his study with innovative teacher, Alfred Wolfsohn, launched a performing arts company. Roy Hart and his collaborators found the raw truth the voice and body could reveal to be the most authentic and powerful touchstone of their creative work. They developed Wolfson’s work, finding “connections with contemporary advances in somatic study and dance, in personal development, and in myth and cultural studies.”*
As my teacher, Ethelyn Friend, describes it, “the approach offers a promise that all humans can gain access to an infinitely wide and deep range of vocal expression. …The power of all manners of truth-telling frees us to live the fullest possible version of ourselves.”
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I resonate with these core practices…
Holistic
A commitment to a holistic view of the voice. Balance is sought between a person’s life journey and their artistic fulfillment.
Listening
A fundamental engagement with listening to the student and supporting the student in listening to themselves.
Experiential
Experiential teaching strategy, guiding students to awareness through sensorial and emotional experience.
Expression
Approaching all vocal expressions as sound, rather than a conventional approach to what is beautiful or what is ugly. This supports students in opening up new vocal areas.
Spectrum of Sound
Students explore the full spectrum of their potential sound, volume and timbre, stretching below and above “normal” ranges.
Movement and Somatics
The full mobilization of the body brings a vital energy to the voice and releases the student’s imagination. Somatic awareness guides vocalization.
Source: Kevin Crawford & Noah Pikes (2019): Vocal Traditions: The Roy Hart Tradition, Voice and Speech Review, DOI: 10.1080/23268263.2019.1576998 (Link)
EDUCATION & TRAINING
I bring a breadth of education and training to teaching voice. This includes over a decade of study with great classical voices of our time, such as Verdi baritone, Sherrill Milnes, and Metropolitan Opera favorite, Trish McCaffrey, and with many dynamic Broadway musical theater coaches, acting and dance instructors and directors (see below). It also includes my training and experience in ministry, counseling, mentoring and outdoor education, and my ongoing training in guiding personal growth work in the wilderness with the Animas Valley Institute. But I draw particularly from voice studies with Ethelyn Friend of the Roy Hart Center, studies with master vocal improviser, Rhiannon, explorations in Voice Movement Therapy, and immersion and training in embodiment practices and somatics.
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Northwestern University: Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance,
Bachelor of Arts in Drama, Musical Theater Certificate Program (2003)
Marymount Manhattan College London Drama Program (2002)
Voice: Etheyln Friend and other Roy Hart Center teachers (esp. Walli Höfinger, Christiane Hommelsheim), Trish McCaffrey, Sherrill Milnes, Mark Schnaible, Andrew Byrne
Vocal Improvisation: Rhiannon, Bobby McFerrin
Voice Movement Therapy: Christine Isherwood and Mali Sastri
Musical Theater: Michael Forman, Phil Hall, Jen Waldman, Dominic Missimi, Lara Teeter, Mary-Mitchell Campbell
Acting: Kim Rubinstein, Kathryn Pogson, Bill Homewood, Tony Randall, T. Schrieber
Dance: Haila Strauss, Eli Newsom, A.C. Ciulla, Joyce Chittick, Joey McKneely
Studies in “Contact Improv” and Somatics including at The Everything Space and The Field Center in VT and Earthdance in Plainfield, MA.
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Harvard Divinity School: Masters of Divinity, Hopkins Scholar (2013)
Bringham and Women’s Hospital: Clinical Pastoral Education (Chaplaincy training, 2011)
Ongoing training while serving in ministry at the First Church in Boston, The Sanctuary Boston, All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK (2013 - 2017), and Director of Youth and Creative Arts Ministries at the First UU Society of Burlington (2020 - 2023).
Teacher/Mentor, Crows Path Field School, Burlington, VT (2018-19)
Champlain College: Teaching Apprenticeship Program (2019 - 2020)
Teacher, “The Walden Project” of Monkton, VT (2019 - 2020)
Antioch University: Masters in Counseling coursework (2020-21)
Animas Valley Institute: “Wild Mind” Guide Training Program, 2018 - present. (Nature-based guiding of soulcentric, psycho-spiritual growth work. See the work of Bill Plotkin.)
What People Are Saying
“David works with all elements of my singing: my mind, body and heart, my fears, my dreams,my inspirations and my vulnerabilities. He creates a safe space in which he both challenges and reassures me, follows me and guides me. After years of more traditional voice training, with David I have discovered a freedom of musical expression that encompasses my whole being.”
— Linda
“With David’s support, I have been able to access the voice as a vehicle for self understanding, grief processing, playfulness, and the exploration of my soul’s longings. His ability to witness, respond, guide, and affirm the process has allowed me to create ripples of change in my life beyond the studio. With specific attention to creating a safe container for exploring the voice beyond its usual comfort zone edges, David has helped me kick off a process of vocal expansion for which I am so grateful.”
— Maia
“My original reason for working with David was "to learn to sing my favorite songs better." Little did I know that the true reason would turn out to be to connect to my heart and to heal. Working with David has changed my life forever. I am a deeper, more grounded person now than I was before. To be in practice with him is to learn to be brave, which is to be vulnerable. It is scary and beautiful and hard and fun. David has taken my little ember of confidence and coaxed it into a fire. I appreciate that so much. It is abundantly clear David is walking his life's purpose. It is an honor to learn from/with him.”
— Molly
“Doing voice lessons with David has been one of the most impactful things I have ever done for myself. The effects of this work have gone way beyond just gaining confidence to sing. It helped me inhabit my heart and body more fully through song, express more truly who I am and find confidence and trust in and through my own voice. It has affected so many areas of my being as a whole and I am immensely grateful for David's gentle and powerful teachings.”
— Silke
“Working with David has been a transformational experience. Remembering why I love to sing has been so healing. Lessons are an exercise in trust that can sometimes feel like a stretch, but the reward is an experience of connection that has touched my soul. And I still can’t believe the sounds that come out of me! I’m singing all the time now and don’t plan to stop. With David’s support I’ve rediscovered a part of myself I hope I’ll never again forget.”
— Jeffrey
“I’ve been singing my whole life and although I always enjoy it, I had lost my passion for it. Thanks to my lessons with David, I’ve fallen back in love with making music and singing. His approach opened up a pathway to reconnect with sound and experience its healing properties. My passion for singing has been restored and it continues to grow thanks to David.”
— Kianna
ARTIST
“I came to know David well, not just as an exceptional singer and artist, but as a young man for whom I still have great affection. We say in our business that a performer has ‘it,’ the stuff, if you will, that makes them light up the stage. David has this gift, but it is not limited to his life on stage. He is a light in the crowd off stage as well.”
I am still in the early stages of rediscovering myself as an artist and it’s an exciting emerging time in that way. With a “blank slate” I’ve enjoyed both returning to Broadway and Classical roots, as well as exploring Jazz and the wide world of improvisation and original music. I look forward to sharing what unfolds…
My professional career in theater, included touring the country in the Broadway National Tour of Grease (Kenickie, Danny), playing my dream role of Tony in West Side Story in the 50th Anniversary Broadway European Tour, premiering the new (Oscar Wilde inspired) play, West Moon Street as Lord Arthur with the Prospect Theater (Off Broadway), and regional work at many theaters such as The Guthrie (MN), Signature Theater (VA) and The Denver Center (CO).
Since stepping away from my performance career in 2010, I continued to share my voice outside the professional arena, often as part of my work in community and ministry.
David Ruffin sings the hymn "My Life Flows On In Endless Song," with pianist Sam Whitesel, at the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington on March 13, 2022.
My homecoming to voice, inspired in large measure by the Covid crisis, has initiated a new chapter for me as an artist and performer. I first got back on the stage in the fall of 2021, joining the Lost Nation Theater of Montpelier, VT in re-opening with the musical revue, “All Together Now.” And a year later I performed a solo classical recital for the first time in twenty years, sharing some of my favorite art songs in gratitude for my homecoming to my voice and to re-centering music in my life.
"Beautiful City" (from Godspell) in the Lost Nation Theatre's production of All Together Now.
A beautiful community outreach with Vermont’s Scrag Mountain Music, a chapter of Carnegie Hall’s Lullaby Project, culminated in a powerful concert showcasing original lullabies, largely by incarcerated mothers with whom we had worked. And gratefully, opportunities to perform with wonderful artists continue to come my way. I’m always thankful when folks reach out with invitations!
And I’ve found a special creative home in the world of improvisation. I had already been drawn deep into dance, and especially contact improv, when I discovered the Roy Hart tradition and then the world of Circle Singing and Vocal Improvisation catalyzed by Bobby McFerrin and developed by great artist teachers such as Rhiannon. The work of listening and creating with other artists in the moment is the most enlivening, humbling, growth-inspiring creative path I’ve yet found. I love sharing this work out in the community and I love collaborating with other singers, movers and instrumentalists.
If you’re an artist, yourself, interested in such collaboration, reach out!
“David Ruffin does a sly, wonderful job mining Lord Arthur for all the boyish insouciance Wilde intended him to embody so that we see exactly what it is he’ll have to sacrifice. And Mr. Ruffin is surrounded by a cast of equally skilled comic performers.”- The New York Times"Standouts include a marvelous David Ruffin as Kenickie…the only disappointment here is that Kenickie doesn’t have enough to sing! Ruffin has charisma in spades, natural dancing ability, and a stellar voice." - DC Theatre Scene“Both leading actors, David Ruffin and Ann McCormack, overwhelmingly sing their dream-like arias: "Maria," "I Feel Pretty" and the duet "Tonight." - Ludwigsburger Kreiszeitung (Germany)
"Empty Chairs" (from Les Mis) in the Lost Nation Theatre's production of All Together Now.
David Ruffin sings "Opening: A New World" from Songs for a New World at the Lost Nation Theatre.
COMMUNITY
One of my greatest joys is offering opportunities for folks to raise our voices and make music in community. It’s all about singing together - a beautiful end in itself, of course. But it’s also about a deeper connection we all long for and about the community we can grow and sustain through sharing our voices and songs.
Circle Singing & Vocal Improvisation Workshops
One of my favorite ways to come together to make music is through group vocal improvisation, often referred to as "Circle Singing.”
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Circle Singing is actually one specific form of vocal improvisation, created by the great Bobby McFerrin. But since its inception, many related simple structures and games have evolved through which folks explore improvisational music making.
My approach mixes the basics of Circle Singing with the work of Bobby’s long-time collaborator Rhiannon and her "Vocal River," as well Zuza Gonçalves' "Musica do Circulo," among many others. In a supportive, playful and judgment-free space, we experiment with interweaving musical patterns, percussive sounds, rhythms, harmonies, melodies, language, etc. into spontaneous music-making. I love seeing the surprise and delight on the faces around a circle as the music emerges.
Different offerings are ideal for beginners, mixed level or advanced. But this all-too-well kept secret approach to blending our voices, allows beginners and professionals alike to make truly wondrous music together on the fly.
Please reach out if you’re interested in joining the fun and finding out about upcoming offerings or if you have any questions!
Community Sings
I believe singing is a birthright of being human and that singing together matters! It’s something we’ve done as long as we’ve been the singing animal that we are. Yet as simple as it is to sing together, it’s something all too many of us rarely do. I’m called to help change that story and hope you’ll join me.
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Community Sings are just that. Time to come together in community and raise our voices, singing out and sinking into our harmonies. Songs, and the singing together of them, help us remember our connection and aliveness, who we are and what matters most. It’s time to just be and play together.
Often called “song circles,” (song before circle this time), these are gatherings in which I/we draw from the world-wide anthology of people’s songs for singing, starting with the songs of our own neighbors and following the threads of connection from there. Songs of celebration, healing, hope, struggle, grief, gratitude, etc. Sometimes a song or two of mine. Maybe a song of yours? Songs around a fire or in a beautiful neighborhood communal space. Songs around a fire, in a home or park or other beautiful neighborhood communal space.
Reach out to get on my list and learn about upcoming opportunities to sing together!
Sings for Menfolk*
One thing I’ve noticed over years is how much less often menfolk tend to show up for singing opportunities. If the general population has largely lost the simple practice of singing together, in my experience male-identified folks may even more often have been told, somewhere along the way, don’t sing (and especially not in front of other men). But we need this practice as much as anyone. And our world needs us to remember this. I feel especially called to support that remembering.
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I bring menfolk together to sing, around fires, in homes, etc. and remember that singing together is core to who we are, as well. It’s been one of the sweetest, simplest gifts I’ve had the chance to share with menfolk. If you’d like to hear about and join in such gatherings, please drop me a line.
*Another meaningful part of the experience has also been welcoming more than just cis-male folks. Anyone drawn by this invite is welcome, absolutely including non-binary/gender queer/trans-masculine folks. My sense is that if you feel called to this kind of space, that’s a metric you can trust. And please reach out to share your experience if you have questions or don’t feel included. I’m ready to learn.
Community Outreach ~ “The Lullaby Project”
Pretty much every time I have the chance to invite singing in community, I’ve been struck, anew, by how impactful this can be for all gathered. Hearts open up, feelings get felt, connection becomes palpable, and then, next thing you know, it’s sacred somehow. I want everyone to get to experience that.
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My hope is to increasingly help to bring music and song where it’s perhaps most needed and potentially transformational. One particular vision I hold is working with incarcerated individuals.
I am SO grateful to have joined Scrag Mountain Music over the past year, in facilitating their work with the Lullaby Project in Vermont. The Lullaby Project pairs parents and caregivers, navigating life challenges such as incarceration or homelessness, with professional artists. We then work with them to write and sing personal lullabies for their children. The work of connecting with these parents and joining them in discovering the music their love for their children inspires, has been incredibly meaningful.
Another joy this work brings is then getting to share these newly created lullabies with the wider community in concert with Scrag Mountain Music!
View highlights last year’s show in the Artist section.As you can well imagine, a bold vision like this takes ongoing support, so if you’re interested in finding out how you can help keep this work alive, let me know!
Also, if you have a project of your own or a vision of one that you imagine I might have interest in, I’d love to hear from you.