writing music since he was 12 years old. He moved to Houston when he was 8 and 'stumbled' into becoming a
passionate musician once his talent was recognized by the choir directors at Labay Jr. High School. After
successfully placing 1st at the junior high region level as a tenor 1, he decided to pursue choir and music as more
than a hobby upon entering high school. As a four year member of the Langham Creek A Cappella choir, Daniel was
chosen as a member of the prestigious Texas All State Mixed Choir three times, twice earning first chair honors. In
2000, then as a "tenor 2", Daniel tied the record for youngest member of a Texas All-State group, earning a place in
the mixed choir at age fourteen. He set a Cy-Fair school district record by earning eight, first chair rankings in a row
(this time as a "bass 2"), over the span of two school years 2001-2002 & 2002-2003: His TMEA 'composite scores'
were always '3' (the highest possible), and he also was a unanimous first chair/'straight ones' five times (twice at
State). He never once earned less than four first chair rankings (five judges) during this span as well. In 2003, Daniel
took home first place at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) voice student competition at the
University of Houston. Four years in a row at Langham Creek, the choir voted him as most talented in his grade level,
and his senior year, he received the director’s award for outstanding achievement and dedication throughout his high
school tenure.
In 2003, Daniel earned a full-tuition waiver, a sum of nearly $34,000 to attend Louisiana State University, where he
spent two years studying vocal performance. He earned a place as the only male freshman in the LSU’s prestigious A
Cappella Choir directed by Dr. Kenneth Fulton, arguably the best choir in the country, and arguably the best and one of
the most well known choir directors in the world. His sophomore year, the LSU's choir was one of only four groups in
the country chosen to sing for the 2005 ACDA (American Choral Director's Association) conference in Los Angeles,
which he considers the most amazing choral experience of his life. LSU was also where Daniel's first opera
performances were staged. He sang in the LSU Opera Chorus for Carlisle Floyd’s “Susannah” and was one of the
Armored Men in Mozart’s “The Magic Flute”. During the fall of 04', he played the title role of Figaro in Mozart’s “Le
Nozze de Figaro”, and he also played the Baker in Steven Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” for LSU's Opera Scenes
program. While at LSU, Daniel studied with Grammy-Award winner and former New York City Opera tenor, Robert
Grayson, under whom he was a three-time NATS finalist (4th in fall 03', 1st in Spring 04' and 2nd in Spring 05'). Mr.
Grayson is the chairman of the vocal arts, as well as the chairperson for Louisiana State University’s thriving opera
program.
Daniel has appeared on television several times locally on different Houston-based singing competitions. In 2002, he
earned 2nd place at the Mix 96.5 Houston Idol competition and has appeared on television as a successful competitor
on Fox’s and 104.1’s own Houston Idol competition. In the summer of 2004, Daniel was invited to sing two of his
original songs at the 2004 Miss Texas Galaxy Pageant and provided entertainment for Houston Red Cross patrons at a
much-anticipated annual event for the well-known charity. In 2005, he earned a spot on “Gimme the Mike”, a
competition produced and aired by NBC’s Houston affiliate. In the summer of 2005, Daniel represented his Baton
Rouge based talent agency Stage 2000 at the prestigious “Model and Talent Expo” presented by Mike Beaty. He was
awarded “Best Overall Adult Male Actor”, sang in the Expo showcase amongst the other top singers, won 1st runner
up in the songwriting category with his original song, Forbidden Love, and was offered a $2000 scholarship to the New
York Film Academy. Daniel also wrote and recorded the official theme song for the Kelly Clarkson web site and fan
club; a song that was voted on and declared the winner by Kelly’s fan club members from around the world. Most
recently, in December of 07', Daniel was a special guest on the Ken Hoffman radio program on 1560 AM's "The Game",
where he discussed his music and contributed his vast knowledge of sports for listeners around Houston. "All I Can
Offer" was played for the first time on a radio station during his guest appearance, which was something Daniel had
always dreamed of since he was "just a kid". He describes the experience by saying only "surreal".
Daniel decided to take time off after his productive two year learning experience at LSU to return home and begin
educating himself about the music industry, hoping that he could become more involved as a performer, producer,
songwriter, voice instructor and artist development specialist at a professional level. It was in the summer of 2005
that he met Jose Camargo of April Sky Music. Their immediate recognition that they both had/have similar goals
within the music industry was enough to spawn a partnership that has continued to find success. The two musicians
are the best of friends, and Daniel continues to consider Jose Camargo the "most genuinely talented, honest
producer/engineer/label CEO on the planet, and a true rarity in the music business (referring to the fact that they have
always loved working for the sake of music and artistry as apposed to the 'ideology of the mainstream music' - always
sacrifice your hard work, passion and dignity for money)". April Sky Music has thrived into one of Houston's most
promising companies within the last few years, and its success doesn't seem to be slowing down. Recently, Jose
began working for Universal Records in Los Angeles, and he plans on seeking a record deal within Universal for Daniel
while they both create music for television and movies (MTV shows and notably Grey's Anatomy). In early 2006, Daniel
felt comfortable enough with the idea of recording his album, teaching his students and being able to commute daily
so that he could continue pursuing his Vocal Performance degree as a transfer student at the University of Houston.
Daniel began his vocal studies with the incredible Bass-Baritone, Dr. Timothy Jones, and he earned a place in Dr. Besty
Cook Weber's 'Concert Choral', which was preparing a stellar concert program for its trip to Miami where they would
take part in performing at the annual ACDA National Convention. However, after three semesters of trying to balance
his time, Daniel experienced exhaustion from the daily commute and physical demands. He came to realize that his
overall production as a student, performer and teacher would suffer unless changes were made. Daniel decided to
slow things down by leaving the University of Houston and begin an LP while continuing to teach privately. He believes
that his time with Dr. Jones was the most important of his life as a singer and instructor, and he credits his knowledge
and teaching success to what he learned under the "truly gifted and talented musician who taught him that talent
alone will never be enough".
This past year, Daniel guided his students once again through the TMEA All-State process, and three students earned
places in the All-State Choir. In the three years he has been teaching, his students have totaled SIX Texas All-State
Choir honors, countless Region Choir honors, and this past year, Alto 1 senior Jennifer Maul (a three year student of
Mr. Rivas') became the first "Daniel Rivas Music" student to make All-State twice (picking up a 1st chair ranking along
the way - only the second student of his to do so) and earned an unbelievable $60,000 scholarship from LSU! Cameron
Mousighi, another one of Mr. Rivas' state representatives (a sophomore who has been studying with Daniel since
before high school) is the youngest baritone in the history of the school to earn such an honor, and soon he will star
opposite another Daniel Rivas Music student, All-Area Soprano 1 Julie Sabol in Langham Creek's production of
Disney's "High School Musical".
CLARKSON FAN CLUB THEME
SONG!!!
Kelly loved it, and her fan club voted
it the winner out of twenty four other
entries. I wrote and recorded it in less
than an hour at home with my sister.
Cheesy, but it's a lot of fun. I used
different song names from her albums.
The sound quality is horrible, but I
hope you enjoy!
© Daniel Rivas Music 2006
© Deuce 81 Productions 2005
All rights reserved
