The Choir Director Search Task Force is grateful to the many people in the congregation who provided insightful input about what you are hoping for in our next Choir Director. Your reflections helped us greatly in reaching a decision. Thank you!
We are delighted, then, to announce that David Buchan has been appointed as our next Choir Director. We found David to be thoughtful and engaging in our interview and in our subsequent conversations with him. We witnessed his ability to meaningfully connect with the choir during the audition. And we are excited by the compelling vision he holds for making music together at VanU.
David is a retired school teacher from the Lower Mainland, where he was, for decades, Head of Department and the director of award-winning choral ensembles. During those years, David was also the Assistant Director and Accompanist to the Vancouver Welsh Men’s Choir for 20 years. Since 2020, he has served as the Assistant Director of the Vancouver Men’s Chorus.
David has an extensive background in both music and music education, with degrees from the University of Victoria in education and piano performance. David also plays the trombone, trumpet, flute, clarinet, bassoon, and the saxophone.
We look forward to introducing David to the congregation on Sunday, when he will join us to honour the end of Donna’s amazing tenure as Choir Director. Please join with us in welcoming David to VanU in the days ahead!
Finally, please help me in thanking the dedicated members of our Search Task Force: Elliott Dainow, Bryan Gick, Mary Lage, Catherine Ponsford, Katherine Roback, and Tamiko Suzuki. It has been a pleasure to work with them.
With great hope,
Shawn