Daniel Gary Busby

Daniel Gary Busby, M.M., D.M.A./UCLA. has made a varied career as pianist, singer, conductor, teacher, administrator and music critic.

A versatile conductor, Dr. Busby’s theatrical credits span both the musical theater and operatic genres, from Stephen Schwartz’s Godspell to Igor Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress. As conductor, Busby has toured Europe and South America, conducting in Berlin, Leipzig, Budapest, Vienna, Florence, Rome, Venice and Bogotá.

He is currently the music director for the hit show, Off Center: the Life and Laughter of Paul Lynde, starring Michael Airington, which will be shown in HEAR! Television Network, starting Fall of 2005, and is produced by Image Entertainment.

Dr. Busby is much sought after as a vocal coach, singing teacher and clinician. He is recently completing work as vocal director for the film, Dementia, directed by José Luís Valenzuéla, which won the 2002 GLAAD Award in Los Angeles. His students are currently performing on Broadway, in the National Tours of Wicked, Little Shop of Horrors, and Mamma Mia! in Europe and Asia, as well as many local productions in southern California. He is a frequent Master Class teacher in the Southern California region.

In January 2005, Busby made his directorial debut at the ARK Theater in Los Angeles with the cult hit, Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens, which garnered him praise as a director and remained an LA Times “Pick of the Week” for over three months.

Before joining the faculty of UCIrvine in 2004, Dr. Busby was the Associate Director of the Ray Bolger Program in Musical Theater in the School of Theater, Film and Television at UCLA. He developed the vocal music curriculum for the Bolger Program with his colleagues Nancy Dussault, Karen Morrow and Linda Kerns. Previous to that, Busby was a member of the faculty of the Thornton School of Music at USC.

Dr. Busby has been an invited panelist for the Los Angeles County Arts Commission Grant Panel for several years. He wrote concert critiques for the Orange County Register in the 1988-1989 season; he was the Administrative Director of the Master Chorale of Orange County, William Hall, Artistic Director from 1989-1991.

Daniel Gary Busby was a conducting student of the late Samuel Krachmalnick (Metropolitan Opera National Company) and studied singing with Gloria Lane (La Scala di Milano), Ruth Golden (New York City Opera) and Jane Paul (Vienna Folksoper).