David Castillo serves as the Director of Choral and Vocal Activities and the Applied Music Coordinator at Moorpark College. His pedagogy is a translation of his vast, high-level Industry Expert experience into accessible, relevant, and practical skill sets for learners of all types. He conducts the Vocal Ensemble and Concert Choir, develops a multi-genre Applied voice studio, and guides instrumental and vocal students through their academic journey. His other course assignments include Vocal Technique, Music Appreciation, Opera, Musical Theatre, Music Business, and Music Industry. At the Neighborhood Music School in Boyle Heights, he resided as a Teaching Artist with a vocal studio of all ages and directed the CORO, a youth choir he founded. Since 2007, his 1:1 voice studio develops vocalists of all genres and experiences.
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, he recorded the soundtracks of Lorne Balfe, Kris Bowers, Germaine Franco, Ludwig Göransson, Alan Menken, Hector Pereira, John Powell, John Williams, and Christopher Willis in works such as Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, The Call of the Wild, Despicable Me 4, Encanto, 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, Lincoln Center, Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Rady Shell with the San Diego Symphony, Severance Hall with The Cleveland Orchestra, and Carnegie Hall with conductors Paolo Bortolameolli, Christian Campos, Michelle Di Russo, 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 Beethoven's 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.
He is a member of the Recording Academy, SAG-AFTRA, AGMA, AFT, and MACCC.