Baritone David Small enjoys an established and continuing career on the operatic and concert stage. Equally comfortable with comedy or drama, his repertoire is richly varied, including performances of well over fifty different operatic roles. In 1991, he debuted his Figaro in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City with great success and subsequently has enjoyed over one hundred performances of the role. He made his Austin Lyric debut in this signature role in 1998 and repeated it for ALO in the 2007 season. His Figaro has charmed audiences for the opera companies of Des Moines Metro Opera, Fresno, Nevada, Dayton, Toledo, Lyric Opera Cleveland and touring France and Spain with IL Teatro Lyrico d’Europa. Mr. Small’s repertoire also includes Escamillo (Carmen), Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Belcore (L’Elisir d’Amore), The Pirate King (Pirates of Penzance), Girard (Andrea Chenier), Valentin (Faust), Danilo (Merry Widow), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Il Conte d’Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Cosi fan Tutte), Papageno (The Magic Flute), The Four Villains (Les Contes d’Hoffman), Marcello (La Boheme), Scarpia (Tosca), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), High Priest (Samson & Delilah), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), Germont (La Traviata) and many others. Mr. Small sang and recorded the role of Tony in Menotti’s HELP, HELP THE GLOBOLINKS! for Madison Opera and is heard on Newport Classics with John DeMain conducting. He is featured on the recording of Jerre Tanner’s THE KONA COFFEE CANTATA with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, as well as THE SONGS OF JOSEPH MARX and CLASSICAL CAROLS, produced by Hal Leonard Publications. In addition to numerous recitals, he has appeared as soloist with St. Louis Symphony, Cincinnati May Festival, Austin Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Rochester Philharmonic, Canton Symphony, Missouri Symphony, and Bravo! Colorado Music Festival. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in the LORD NELSON MASS and SCHUBERT MASS IN G with John Rutter conducting.

Professor Small’s UT students have performed roles with the Austin Lyric Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Delaware, Houston’s Opera in the Heights, among others and apprenticeships with Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera and others. Recent student achievements include baritone Yoon-Sang Lee, who was selected as one of 12 finalists in the 2007 International Verdi Baritone competition, as well as being a finalist in the Artist Division of the National Opera Association 2008 Vocal Competition. Former studio member Dr. Arikka Gregory, mezzo-soprano, served as a 2007 NATS ‘Young Leader’, one of five to be chosen nationally.

He earned an Artist’s Diploma in Opera and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of the late Metropolitan Opera basso Italo Tajo. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the DePauw University School of Music, where he studied with Thomas Fitzpatrick (student of Mack Harrell) and received a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance with a Performer’s Certificate. Professor Small was invited to give a presentation entitled, “From Studio to Stage to Studio; The Life and Times of an Artist Teacher” at the 2008 NATS National Convention and has been chosen as a Master Teacher for the 2011 NATS intern program. He is a contributing writer for Classical Singer Magazine beginning with his article "Why I Teach", for their July 2009 edition.