David Martosko is a journalist and writer who was trained on the piano, cello, and tuba but sang his way through his teens and ultimately embraced opera — first on stage and then on the podium. He met his wife, soprano Susan Wheeler, during a summer season with Opera North in New Hampshire, where he was conducting Copland and Puccini. Susan has performed at Carnegie Hall and in concert with the Metropolitan Opera Guild at Lincoln Center.
Growing up singing in the Cleveland Orchestra Children’s Chorus, David once had a 15-minute coaching with Leonard Bernstein on the Chichester Psalms treble solo. He performed an off-color birthday song to Bob Hope as part of his first job: delivering singing telegrams.
In D.C., David has appeared on stage with the Washington Savoyards and as a baritone section leader in the Master Chorale of Washington. As a journalist, he spent seven years as a White House correspondent, peppering presidents with questions for the (London) Daily Mail and flying on Air Force One. His most important work, he says, was in Zambia — a three-part series about the AIDS-driven orphan crisis there.
David has a B.A. in music from Dartmouth College and a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Conservatory. He has won an Emmy Award as a TV correspondent, and shared an Edward R. Murrow Award for writing.