A pupil in Vancouver of Lily Wilson and in London of Parry Jones and Manlio di Veroli, Astor sang in England with the Royal Opera and at the Glyndebourne and Aldeburgh Festivals, and in the USA with the Chicago, Dayton, and Toledo operas. His COC roles have been Hoffmann in The Tales of Hoffmann in 1967, Donald Smith and General Middleton in Louis Riel in 1968 and 1975, and the Fourth Jew in Salome in 1975. Astor has appeared with Canadian orchestras, the BBC, Milwaukee, and Chicago SOs, the Royal Philharmonic, and has been heard in recital and on CBC and BBC radio. He sings the title role in the recording of Somers'The Fool. He has taught voice at the University of Wisconsin 1968-75, the Banff SFA 1974-84, Grant MacEwan Community College, Edmonton 1975-80, Alberta College 1980-91, the University of British Columbia 1988-9, and Capilano College beginning in 1989. He began teaching drama at the University of British Columbia in 1990. He has continued to teach privately, and to be active as a recitalist and soloist, particularly in oratorios. Astor and his wife Sarah were involved in the organization and administration of the Violet Archer Festival in Edmonton in 1985.
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- MLA 8TH EDITION
- Spier, Susan and Rick Macmillan. "David Astor". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 22 June 2015, Historica Canada. www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/david-astor-emc. Accessed 02 November 2024.
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- APA 6TH EDITION
- Spier, S., & Macmillan, R. (2015). David Astor. In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/david-astor-emc
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- CHICAGO 17TH EDITION
- Spier, Susan , and Rick Macmillan. "David Astor." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published August 01, 2007; Last Edited June 22, 2015.
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- TURABIAN 8TH EDITION
- The Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "David Astor," by Susan Spier, and Rick Macmillan, Accessed November 02, 2024, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/david-astor-emc
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David Astor
Article by Susan Spier, Rick Macmillan
Published Online August 1, 2007
Last Edited June 22, 2015
David Astor (né Thomas David Holman), tenor, teacher (born 24 April 1926 in Vancouver, BC; died 30 June 2008 in Calgary, AB).