David Sisco is a teaching artist whose life work centers around exploring music, drama, and scholarship, finding great inspiration and commonalities in each. David received a BA in Vocal Performance and Composition Honors from Syracuse University, and a MM in Vocal Performance from Boston University School for the Arts.
Having been raised by two teachers, David has a deep love of teaching. He has served on the faculties at Northeastern and Suffolk University, teaching voice and musical theater performance. He taught private voice at Marymount Manhattan College for over ten years. and also worked as an adjunct professor at Wagner College. Currently, David is adjunct voice faculty at NYU Steinhardt. He also maintains an active private studio and has taught around the country and internationally. He was a keynote speaker for the 2018 ANATS (Australian National Association of Teachers of Singing) National Conference in Leura, Australia, and served on the faculty of Taipei Performing Arts Center’s Musical Theatre Workshop. In addition, David has been a guest teacher at many institutions, such as Boston University, Dean College, Five Towns College, SUNY New Paltz, ANATS Victoria, The Street Theatre (Canberra), Ingraham High School, West Genesee High School, and Riverside Children’s Theatre.
David is the co-author of Mastering College Musical Theatre Auditions (3rd edition) and Performing in Contemporary Musicals (Routledge) with colleague Laura Josepher. His next book, Wholehearted Voice Pedagogy: An Integrative Approach to Training Vocal Artists, will be released by Routledge Press in Summer, 2025. In addition, David has written many articles for the Journal of Singing, MTEA Journal, BroadwayWorld.com, and more.
Sisco is a prolific composer, whose work has been performed at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. A winner of the 2010 NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Composition Award, David’s songs have been heard at concerts produced by Friends & Enemies of New Music, Joy in Singing, Lyricfest, and Songfest. Additionally, he has written several commissions, including pieces for Cayuga Vocal Ensemble, Florida International University Concert Choir, Manhattan Girls Chorus, and Minnesota State University Moorhead Concert Choir.
An alumnus of the esteemed BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop (Advanced) and New Dramatists Composer-Librettist Workshop, David is a passionate writer for the stage. He is the author of Here I Am: A Musical Personal Ad, which received the Alex Libby Award for Best Musical Performance at the 2002 Columbus National Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival. Other musicals include Variations on a Theme of You, Sopranos (featured at the 2002 NYC International Fringe Festival), and a one-act opera based on James Thurber’s The Catbird Seat. With collaborator Tom Gualtieri, David has written Falling to Earth, which received a five-week workshop at Syracuse University in January 2009 and was part of The Developmental Reading Series at the York Theatre the following Fall. Tom and David are also the creators of the video series about equity in the theatre industry entitled “Draw the Circle Wide.” Currently, David is writing the musical GREAT COMPANY with librettist Lynn Rosen.
David is also a playwright. His first play, BAIT, premiered at the 2006 Columbus Theatre Festival, winning six awards including Best Comedy and Best of the Festival. Directed by Laura Josespher, starring Tom Gualtieri and Sisco, the show was later featured at the Inaugural Left Out Festival in New York. It extended three times after critical acclaim and sold out houses. BAIT was also part of the 2008 Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Theater Festival and has been featured entertainment on several Atlantis Cruises. BAIT was later developed into two one-act comedies called BAIT n’ SWISH. BAIT n’ SWISH ran at Stage Left in New York in the Fall of 2011 and extended into 2012 with rave reviews.
As a singer, David feels at home as a recitalist, musical theater performer, and chorister. The Boston Herald praised his performance of The AIDS Quilt Song Book, saying he sang with “heart-breaking sincerity.” For over 12 years, David was a frequent soloist and member of the professional sanctuary choir at Marble Collegiate Church, recording three albums with the premier ensemble. He formed a cabaret duo with Alexandra Foucard called Comes Love. The duo regularly performed at Tin Pan Alley in Provincetown and were featured artists in the Inaugural International Cabaret Festival in New York. Most recently, David presented a one-man show entitled Sing Happy at GreenRoom 42 in June, 2022.