DAVID SIMMONS | Artistic Director
DAVID SIMMONS joined CoroAllegro as its Artistic Director in 2025.
Since September 2021, David has served as the full-time Director of Music for the historic Trinity Episcopal Parish in Wilmington, Delaware. In addition, he became the founding director of the Encore Chorale of Wilmington in 2022 and the founding director of the Encore Chorale of Philadelphia in 2024. David is an accomplished pianist, organist, music educator and conductor whose career has taken him from the music classroom to the church organ and choir loft, and from work as a recital soloist and accompanist to a variety of conductor’s podiums, stretching from choral and orchestral work to turns in musical theatre, jazz and opera.
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Prior to moving to Wilmington with his husband, Michael Polscer, in 2021, David was active in the Washington, DC music community for over 33 years. He was the Director of Music for Ascension Lutheran Church and School in Landover Hills, MD from 1995 to 2012. From 2006 through 2019, he served as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the 100-voice Congressional Chorus in Washington, DC. He became the Founding Artistic Director of American Youth Chorus in 2008 and the Founding Director of the 24-member a cappella Congressional Chamber Ensemble in 2012, the same year he assumed the leadership of the NorthEast Senior Singers in Washington, DC. From 2017 to 2021, David served as the Organist and Choir Director for Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, DC. From 2019 through 2021, David served as an Encore Creativity conductor in the DC region and then as the Associate Artistic Director of Encore Creativity nationwide.
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From 1988 to 2021, David conducted and accompanied for many DC area companies including the Washington National Opera, The Capital City Symphony and the Washington Savoyards, at numerous venues, including The White House, US Capitol Building, State Department, Library of Congress, National Archives, The National Building Museum, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Round House Theater, the Harman Center for the Arts, the National Theatre, the Alden Theater, the Gildenhorn Theater, The Katzen Center for the Arts, Arena Stage, and the Atlas Performing Arts Center. In addition, he worked in the education and outreach programs of numerous DC based performing arts organizations, including The Washington Chorus, The Choral Arts Society of Washington and The Washington Opera.