ABOUT
Composer Roger Davidson has received wide acclaim for his powerfully expressive music, his mastery of form and structure and for the originality of his compositional voice.
Born in Paris in 1952 to a French mother and an American father, Davidson moved to New York when he was one year old, starting playing piano on his own at age four, and beginning violin lessons at age eight, showing an early love of both classical music and jazz. His formal education includes a B.A. in German and Asian Studies from St. Olaf College (1974), a M.Mus. in Composition from Boston University (1981), and a M.Mus. in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College (1985). He continued his graduate studies with renowned composers David Del Tredici, Theodore Antoniou and others at Boston University
After graduating from Boston University in 1980 with a Master’s Degree in Composition, Davidson enrolled in Westminster Choir College in Princeton to expand his work beyond instrumental music, receiving a Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting in 1985. It was at Westminster that Davidson’s love and appreciation for choral music blossomed, and conducting led to composing for choir – an expression of his personal mission “of creating a repertoire of music to express the unity of God and especially His unconditional love for all humanity.” This would later lead to his coining of the term “universal sacred music”, and to the creation of his catalogue of universal sacred music works, both choral & instrumental.
Despite this new focus, Davidson retained his love for jazz, coming to work with bassist David Finck and drummer Dave Ratajczak on his first studio recording Ten to Twelve on Soundbrush Records (2006), the label Davidson founded in 2002. With Soundbrush Records, Davidson has developed an impressive roster of hand-picked musicians from around the world and has established a broad, diverse catalogue that won the label a Latin Grammy Award.
Davidson’s sacred music recordings include choral works representing his mission of writing and performing music that builds bridges among people of all faiths and celebrates our fundamental unity: Missa Universalis (1998), One God, One World (2004), and Universal Sacred Music for Chorus (2013) are affirmations of the transcendence that is the substance of his vision. In 2013 he also recorded Temple of the Soul, his masterpiece solo piano recording of rhapsodies and meditations, an instrumental example of universal sacred music.
In recent years, Davidson became increasingly intrigued by tango, Brazilian music and klezmer, all styles that have served as wonderful vehicles for the breadth and depth of his emotional expression.
His tango explorations as a composer were first documented on Mango Tango (1995), a recording “featuring different kinds of tango, not just Argentine.” He has since also recorded Amor por el Tango (2002) and Pasión Por La Vida (2008), a duet with Latin Grammy™ winning Raúl Jaurena, a master of the bandoneón, the button accordion that is the quintessential instrument in tango. His On the Road of Life (2011), a collaboration with klezmer master Frank London, took him to international festivals including the Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków, Poland, playing his original compositions.
Davidson’s life-long love affair with Brazilian music has recently been enhanced by the love of his life, Nilcelia Davidson, who continually inspires a large body of work in this genre. In addition to Rodgers in Rio (2002), a Brazilian-tinged take on Richard Rodgers’ standards, Davidson has released five recordings of entirely original compositions: Bom Dia (2007), Brazilian Love Song (2009), Journey to Rio (2012), a two-volume set recorded in Rio de Janeiro, and two recordings with the harmonica player and vibraphonist Hendrick Meurkens and Roger’s New York City based band: Oraçao Para Amanhã (2017) – a live album, and Music From the Heart (2018). His publishing company, Musica Universalis, has also published two volumes of Davidson’s Brazilian music in songbook format: To Brazil with Love and Saudade do Brasil.
Across all genres, and regardless of which language or culture, the music of Roger Davidson is defined by his vision that “we are all one spiritual family.”
Roger Davidson started Soundbrush Records in 1998 as a label dedicated to combining the musical and the visual arts. In 2002 it morphed into a label producing primarily jazz, world music, and music from Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, and other countries throughout the Caribbean and Latin America. In keeping with its original mission, however, Soundbrush pays special attention to the artistic quality of the cover designs. The unifying principle in all Soundbrush recordings is the positive energy exuding from every musician in every performance.
MUSIC AND SPIRITUALITY
For Roger Davidson, music and spirituality are inextricably linked. For some artists, music is a means to spiritual enlightenment; for others spirituality is a key element of their musical purpose, but for Roger Davidson the union of music and spirituality define his lifelong pursuit of humanism, peace and the illumination of a path for people to realize the fullest potential instilled in their spirits as children of God. A humanitarian in the purest sense of the word, Roger is also an ordained minister. He founded the Society for Universal Sacred Music (http://www.universalsacredmusic.org) in 2000, for the purpose of promoting this message, particularly by emphasizing the unconditional love of God for us all.
Roger Davidson founded the Society for Universal Sacred Music in 2000, for the purpose of developing a repertoire of music – primarily vocal – that expresses the unconditional and eternal love of God for us all, and our fundamental brotherhood and sisterhood as eternal children of God. Beyond interfaith work, this music is meant to build bridges throughout the world by singing of that which unites us the most: the Light within each of our souls, regardless of one’s circumstances in any given lifetime on Earth. After discontinuing concerts, the Society now exists to archive and preserve the legacy of its work in universal spirituality through music.
Following this, Roger and his wife, Reverend Nilcelia Davidson, founded Lightcircle Ministries — to represent their work as ministers of universal spirituality. Their website is: www.lightcircleministries.org.
Roger Davidson lives in the New York area with his wife, Reverend Nilcelia Davidson.
