Dan Bennett
Musician / Conductor / Arranger / Composer / Teacher
Dan Bennett is a musician, conductor, arranger and composer working in Canberra, Australia
Dan is the Musical Director for three well-known Canberra based choirs - The Canberra Chordsmen, Strange Weather Choir, and Mixtape Chorus.
When not running choir rehearsals, Dan teaches music privately - specializing in music theory, voice, guitar and piano. Dan also offers coaching for other conductors as well as coaching ensembles.
Dan is an active arranger and composer of music - with experience in a broad range of styles including contestable Barbershop arrangements, SATB choral acapella and more!
Dan also hosts of podcast Interview with Choir Leaders, and is active in promoting community music-making. Most recently, Dan has become a qualified Singing Judge with the Australasian Guild of Barbershop Judges.
Are you interested in ensemble coaching, private lessons or perhaps a custom arrangement?
Community Choirs
I work with three community choirs in Canberra.
Canberra Chordsmen
The Canberra Chordsmen is a male barbershop chorus based in Woden, ACT. We have members of all ages and from all walks of life. We love honing our skills, performing in the community, and participating in barbershop competitions run by our parent organisation Barbershop Harmony Australia.
Strange Weather Choir
Strange Weather is a community choir based in Lyneham, ACT. Our repertoire is broad and includes spirituals, folk songs, protest songs, African songs, Australian songs and pop songs. We love performing in the community, competing in the national Eisteddfod and singing at the National Folk Festival.
Mixtape Chorus
Mixtape Chorus is a non-auditioned community choir based in Braddon, ACT. We are devoted to Indie pop music (if it’s on Triple J, we probably sing it!). Mixtape strives to be inclusive and approachable to everyone, no matter your singing experience. We perform at community events such as Light Up Lyneham and the Reclink Cup, and we like to collaborate with local artists (most recently, Evan Buckley AKA the Burley Griffin).
Harmony Singing
Harmony singing is a big part of my life. It all started in 2011 when I joined the Canberra Chordsmen, and fell in love with barbershop harmony. Since then I’ve done as much harmony singing as I can…
Dan interviews choir leaders both local and international in his podcast Interviews with Choir Leaders.
Hear from a diverse ensemble of successful choir leaders from all across the colourful musical landscape - choir leaders’ origin stories, loves and hates, favourite methods, key resources and secrets to success!
Podcast: Interviews with Choir Leaders
Original Music
I’m writing songs on-and-off all of the time.
Sometimes I record them!
You can find my latest tracks on my Soundcloud.
Sifted from the Aether
My first album, "released" (i.e. hard copies given away to friends and family) in January 2011.
A labour of love, I was exploring my songwriting voice and recording abilities. I've learned much since then, but I still look back at this album with enormous fondness.
Artwork by Claire Pendrigh.
Dedication:
The dedication of this album is split between three great friends:
Firstly to Claire, whose lecture-book scribbles were the serendipitous missing link of the album;
To Thus, at times the only one who understood; and
Lastly to Thomas, a great teacher, and friend.