BIO

David Wheatley is an award-winning organist, pianist and composer based in Los Angeles, California. He was born and raised in Guelph Ontario Canada, where he received his early musical training. He attended the University of Toronto and studied with Clifford Poole at the Royal Conservatory of Music where he holds the ARCT (Associate of the Royal Conservatory of Toronto) in both Piano and Pipe Organ Performance. Wheatley tied for first place for The Edward Johnson Music Foundation Award in Guelph for classical organ performance. He also won the Ron Collier Composition Contest then held annually in Toronto, Canada. He has a Bachelor of Music Degree in Composition from the University of North Texas (formerly North Texas State University) where he was honored as Outstanding Undergraduate Male and also taught music arranging while there. He holds a Master’s Degree in Composition from the University of Southern California. Also while at USC, he served as co-founder and director of the then Composition for the Music Industry Advanced Studies Program. While at USC, he taught music theory, orchestration, songwriting and arranging. David also studied at Second City in Hollywood for comedy training and attended improv classes with Dave Razowsky.

David performs solo organ concerts in the United States and Canada and has a very diverse background which includes performing the Bach B Minor Mass on the organ with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra during a 20 venue tour including The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.; solo noontime organ recitals at The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles; recording the Five Pieces for Orchestra by Arnold Schoenberg with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for Nonesuch Records; playing the legendary Twentieth Century Fox organ with an orchestra for part of the soundtrack of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. He also played the organ for Texas Rangers Baseball games for part of one season. Wheatley performed the entire Beethoven’s 5th Symphony playing all orchestral parts on piano for a house concert in Sherman Oaks, California. His interpretation was based on the transcription by Franz Liszt.

Wheatley has served as organist, pianist, music director and choir director for numerous churches of many denominations including Episcopalian; Anglican; Presbyterian; Catholic; Methodist; Christ, Scientist; Nazarene; Baptist; Lutheran, Seventh Day Adventist and non-denominational.

In September of 2019, David gave a solo pipe organ concert for the noontime organ series at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels in Los Angeles and in February of 2020, he gave a solo pipe organ concert for Pasadena Presbyterian Church’s Music at Noon Series. David also gave an organ and piano concert in October of 2021 in Laguna Beach, California and an organ and piano concert at Glendale City Church’s Second Saturday Concert Series in Glendale, California in November of 2021. In November of 2022, David was one of three recitalists who performed a solo organ program at the Fall Member Recital for the American Guild of Organists, Los Angeles Chapter, in Glendora, California.

For four Sundays in July of 2023, David was the guest organist at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, home to what is considered to be the second largest church pipe organ in the world. David also performed a 30-minute Prelude Concert before each service which is a weekly tradition at the church.

In April of 2023, The David Wheatley Band performed at the first annual AFM Local 47 Jazz Festival in Burbank, California. Band members included Phillip Whack on alto saxophone, Ron Stout on trumpet, Larry Steen on electric bass, Dave Hunt on drums and band leader Wheatley on piano.

The David Wheatley Band also performed at the annual Jazz in July Festival held outdoors on the campus of First Presbyterian Church of Granada Hills in July of 2024. Band members included Randall Willis on alto saxophone, Jeff Kaye on trumpet, Adrian Rosen on electric bass, Dave Hunt on drums with David on keyboards and leading the band.

As organ soloist, David performed the Organ Concerto in G minor by Francis Poulenc with the highly-acclaimed Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra for their season opener on September 22, 2024 at Ventura First United Methodist Church. Conducted by KuanFen Liu.

David hosted a 25-episode podcast series which can be found on YouTube entitled David Wheatley’s Podcast. Content includes David’s views and observations on how social psychology, human behavior and music all intersect with each other. He co-produced the podcast with Barbara Sheppard.

Wheatley’s original composition, Duo for Two Marimbas, was performed in the summer of 2023 in Japan by percussionist Kazuhide Takeshita.

He also performed, directed and conducted Jazz Vespers Concerts at Northridge United Methodist Church in Northridge, California. In May of 2019, he performed as pianist with The Charlie Ferguson Big Band at the Los Angeles Jazz Institute Big Band Jazz Festival.

David has given master classes and workshops for the American Guild of Organists - Los Angeles and Ventura Chapters, the Church Keyboard Center in Monrovia, California, as well as an educational event including a piano concert followed by a Q and A for more than 200 middle-school students in Visalia, California. In October of 2024, David was guest lecturer for Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Music via Zoom for Professor William Lenihan’s course, The Art of Popular Song.

Wheatley is the creator, director and performer of his one-person show, A Useful Life in C Major, with music, humor and storytelling, presented at the Hollywood Fringe Festival in 2016, where the show received The Pick of the Fringe Award. Barbara Sheppard co-produced.  He also gave a workshop on Music for the Theatre during that same festival.

As another example of a multi-talented background, David has also performed as a stand-up comedian and includes his own brand of humor in most of his music performances as well.

Wheatley has co-written, co-directed and co-produced three original musicals for the stage: Hands The Musical, Star of Wonder and Gallery with Deanne Davis, all of which have been premiered on stage. Music from all three has been recorded with David as arranger and pianist on the recordings.

Wheatley has also recorded many original compositions, including the CD Out of the Blue and The Waterways Album by Lightstream, of which tracks received air-play on radio stations such as The Wave in Los Angeles, WNUA in Chicago, KUSC, CHUM FM in Toronto, JWAV in Japan, United Airlines Worldwide Inflight Music as well as being heard on major streaming audio services.

Playing on many soundtracks, his credits include films such as Curse of the Dragon starring Bruce Lee, The Golden Child starring Eddie Murphy and television shows such as Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Mork & Mindy and other TV show’s soundtracks. His original music has been included in television shows such as the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Merv Griffin Show, All My Children, General Hospital, Santa Barbara and others which are seen and heard worldwide, as well as many music streaming services. David conducted his original orchestral work, Kroma, with the University of North Texas Symphony and conducted an original film score with the National Philharmonic of London.

As a young composer, he was invited to be part of an anthology which was a Premiere of Seven Compositions for the Piano. David’s composition, Five Short Pieces for Piano Alone, is included in the published anthology edited by Joseph Banowetz and published by Neil A. Kjos, Jr. in one of their Composers of Today Editions.

Professional affiliations include American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP); Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI); American Federation of Musicians Local 47 (currently Chair of the Election Board, member of the Salary Board and formerly on the Strategic Planning Committee); the American Guild of Organists, Los Angeles Chapter (currently Member-at-Large and formerly on the Education Committee); and formerly Co-Chair of the Urban Design and Preservation Advisory Committee of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council.

In August of 2019, David traveled to London, England where he visited and played eight historical pipe organs with an eye towards giving future concerts there. He also recently released a pipe organ video that can be found on his YouTube channel, with more Wheatley performances and projects in the works.

Wheatley has recently embarked on a self-taught study of social psychology and is interested in how elements of this field are embedded in all walks of life. He always enjoys sharing these theories at length wherever he goes.