David Rossow

David Rossow
MA, Florida Atlantic University
Senior Instructor

Areas of Expertise:
Ear-training
Jazz Piano

Email: drossow@fau.edu
Office Phone: 561.297.1327
Office: AL 229

David P. Rossow, (b. 1975) is a composer, educator, pianist, and music minister.  His compositions span several genres including art song, choral, jazz, and liturgical.  Primarily composing for the voice, he strives to create the perfect marriage of text and music.  It is that intent which allows his music to speak to the listener on a deep, emotional level. His compositional sound is perhaps most influenced by his background as a jazz pianist; the use of distinctive modal melodies in combination with rich textures and extended harmonies all intertwine to create a unique musical soundscape.     

He holds a Bachelor of Jazz Studies degree in jazz piano performance and a Master of Arts degree in composition from Florida Atlantic University, the latter under the tutelage of Dr. Stuart Glazer. Staying close to his educational roots, he is currently a member of the faculty at Florida Atlantic University where he teaches courses in jazz piano, chamber jazz, theory, sight singing, and history. In addition, he has served as the collaborative pianist for the FAU Women’s Chorus for over seventeen years.  

A commission for a single set of English art songs for baritone and piano eventually led to three complete cycles on the poems of Shakespeare, Housman, and Joyce plus an additional set of four songs for soprano and piano on the texts of Thomas Moore.  The culmination of this commission was the doctoral dissertation entitled Bells In Tower At Evening Toll: A Performer's Guide to the Songs of David P. Rossow on the texts of William Shakespeare and A.E. Housman for Baritone Voice and Piano written by good friend and baritone Matthew J. Daniels, DMA (Louisiana State University, 2014).

Among his more recent choral compositions are Missa Illumina, a twenty-five-minute major work for orchestra and SATB chorus which was premiered at the Florida Atlantic University’s High School Choral Festival in the Fall of 2016, and Teach Me to Love for SATB chorus and piano published in the NCCO Choral Series.

Serving as a music minister in several local parishes for over twenty-five years, he has written numerous songs for the Catholic liturgy as well as three complete mass settings.  He currently holds the position of Assistant Director of Music at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Boca Raton.

His compositions are published by E.C. Schirmer www.ecspublishing.com,Santa Barbara Music Publishing www.sbmp.com, and Simply Liturgical Music slmusic.org More information about his music can be found on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, his YouTube channel, and at www.davidprossow.com.