David Castillo serves as the Interim Director of Choral and Vocal Studies, the Interim Applied Music Coordinator, and the CTE Liaison at Moorpark College. He guides the vocal and instrumental music majors through their academic journey, directs the Vocal Ensemble and Concert Choir, and instructs the members of his Applied vocal studio. He teaches courses in Vocal Technique and Development, Opera, Music Theatre, Music Appreciation, and Music Industry. At the Neighborhood Music School in Boyle Heights, he resides as a Teaching Artist with a vocal studio of all ages and directs CORO, a youth choir he founded in 2022. Since 2007, his private 1-to-1 studio develops vocalists of all genres and experiences. He celebrates a decade as a member of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, books as an actor and singer on set and in the studio, and joins various projects as an artistic consultant and producer.
David dives into the worlds of Hollywood on-camera and on the mic as an actor, a musician, and acting as a musician. He appeared on-camera in commercials, on Amazon Prime Video’s Hunters, in a Camila Cabello music video playing his trumpet, and in a pop-opera group on America’s Got Talent. His voiceover work can be experienced on commercials, on podcasts, and on several Netflix series’. As a session singer, highlights of his credits include Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, The Call of the Wild, Encanto, Haunted Mansion, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse.
As a soloist on-stage, David’s favorite highlights include performances in Paris, New York's Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Los Angeles' Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, San Diego's Rady Shell, and The Cleveland Orchestra's Severance Hall with conductors Paolo Bortolameolli, Christian Campos, Gustavo Dudamel, Grant Gershon, Louis Langrée, Rafael Payare, Franz Welser-Möst, and Eric Whitacre. He loved performing Héctor in Germaine Franco’s “Un Poco Loco” from Disney’s Coco with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Neighborhood Music School, Germaine on percussion, and her original band from the movie in a Gala honoring the her at Walt Disney Concert Hall. He traveled with Schubert's Winterreise for years performing it in Paris, New Orleans, Pasadena, Los Angeles, and in a choreographed version with Luminario Ballet. He premiered Eric Whitacre’s The Gift of the Magi as Jim, Shawn Kirchner’s Songs of Ascent as King David/Narrator, and Diana Syrse’s “Alas de noche” all with the LA Master Chorale; Guerrerio’s OC Fan Tutte as Will with Salastina; and Louis Andriessen’s Theatre of the World as Goethe and Annie Gosfield/Yuval Sharon’s War of the Worlds as Officer both with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
As a producer, he focuses on numerous senses and perspectives as entry points to the important, challenging conversations our communities need to surface. His productions of Seven Deadly Sins and INNERVISIONS:revisitedcollaborated with dozens of New Orleans’ best chefs and powerhouse movers and vocalists. His first collaboration in fashion began as producer and performer of Project Runway winner/composer Kentaro Kameyama and writer William Nedved’s The Passion of McQueen. He joined the duo again to perform their next project Medusa at the Getty Villa and Deaf West Theatre. On a note outside production, David recently continued with Deaf West Theatre to workshop several stages of Fidelio as Don Pizarro with the LA Phil. David and Kentaro created and produced the fashion/art exhibition “for anna.”
David received a Master of Music from the USC Thornton School of Music and Bachelor of Music from Loyola University New Orleans, graduating with distinction from both institutions. He trained at Anthony Meindl’s Acting Workshop, Charlie Adler’s Acting for Animation, the Sign Language Center, The MoCap Vaults, The HALP Network Entertainment Academy, The Voicecaster, Adventures in Voice Acting, Killian’s Commercial Workshop, New Orleans Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, The Yard Muay Thai, Wild Card Boxing Gym, Bitter Root Pottery, and the Aspen Music Festival and School.
To balance his wild and fast-paced lifestyle, he grounds out through slow process endeavors in the kitchen as an amateur pasta, nel drip, tamagoyaki, and tortilla maker. He constantly is in class or in coachings somewhere around town or on the Zooms learning something new. You probably will find him at the local pup park with his beautiful and silly pups Pippa and Rafa (@PipNRaf).