Dr. Davis Martin (b. 1996) is a composer, educator, performer, and writer based in Hartford, CT. He is currently a professor at Central Connecticut State University and a private instructor of music composition at The Hartt School’s Community Division. 

Dr. Martin completed his DMA in Music Composition at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School, where he served as a teaching fellow and provided composition lessons to undergraduate students. During this degree, he was a two-time recipient of the Edward Diemente Prize for Excellence in Creative Activity. He also holds MM degrees in Choral Conducting and Vocal Pedagogy as well as a BM in Music Composition from East Carolina University, where he was awarded Outstanding Senior in Music Theory/Composition.

As a composer, Dr. Martin strives to both challenge and invite audiences with his music. The majority of his creative output includes works that incorporate the human voice. He frequently sets texts by living authors, including D. A. Powell and Brian Teare. Most recently, he completed his doctoral dissertation CATCH FOR US THE FOXES, an opera based on the biblical story of David, for which he also wrote the libretto. Upcoming works include art song settings of poems by Gabrielle Calvocoressi and a one-act opera using poems by Richard Siken as the libretto. His other works including solo, chamber, and orchestral music can be found here. Dr. Martin has been directly influenced by the professors he has worked with during his academic career, including Daron Hagen, Gilda Lyons, Anthony R. Green, and Ed Jacobs. 

As a performer, Dr. Martin is well-versed in chamber music, opera, and art songs. He often performs his own works as a pianist and as a vocalist. Recent notable performances include his own large-scale song cycle on poetry by Kaveh Akbar, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro with The Hartt School’s Opera Theater, and several works for solo piano or piano with electronics. 

Dr. Martin has a strong history with choral music as both a performer and conductor. He has served as the Assistant Conductor of the Greenville Choral Society, where he worked with Dr. Andrew Roby in cultivating several programs of music for the Eastern North Carolina area. He worked as a section leader at Peace Presbyterian Church in Winterville, NC. He also worked as a section leader and soloist at Center Church in Hartford, CT. 

Dr. Martin has also delved into writing his own poetry. During his time at the University of Hartford, he won an award for his poems. He has also been published in Rejected Lit Magazine. More samples of his writing can be found here.

Outside of music, Dr. Martin enjoys photography, collecting vinyl records, playing Magic: The Gathering with friends, and tending to his ever-growing collection of plants.