David Douglas

Advisory BoarD

Director / Newberry Consort

David Douglass is a violinist and a researcher into the style and technique of the violin in Renaissance times, and is known for his performances and leadership of various early music ensembles. He is the founder of the King's Noyse, North America's only professional Renaissance violin band. Douglass has researched the set-up and performing style of the violin, and tours as a Renaissance violin soloist. He is a member of Musicians of Swanne Alley in addition to the Newberry Consort, in which he plays other medieval stringed instruments including the viola da gamba. He has been a guest artist with the Harp Consort, the Parley of Instruments, the Toronto Consort, and the Folger Consort. Douglass' researches into sixteenth- and seventeenth-century dance and consort music led to his founding the King's Noyse. Douglass has provided much of the group's repertory by his arranging of tunes found in dancing manuals of the time and other sources, drawing on a rich stock of British ballad and country dance tunes, as well as improvising on bass lines and playing tunes from memory. In addition, the group plays compositions more often played today on consorts of viols, which is appropriate since much of the string consort music of the period was written so it could be played by either type of instrumental formation. Douglass is a member of the Artist Faculty at the Aston Magna Academy. He frequently lectures on early violin technique, style, and repertory, and teaches at many summer festivals and workshops. He records exclusively with Harmonia Mundi USA.