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 would later 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, an award usually reserved for the choir's student director(s). Daniel is still the only student
(eleven years since it became an award, 1996) to earn the award despite the fact that he was not the student director.
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. 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 he started high school) is the youngest baritone in the history of the school to earn such an honor, and most
recently, he co-starred opposite another Daniel Rivas Music student, All-Area Soprano 1 Julie Sabol in Langham
Creek's production of Disney's "High School Musical". Currently, Daniel is in the process of finding the many 'special
young singers' whom he feels are "overlooked by so many regarding potential possibility". His goals at the moment
involve his private studio's roster:
"After all the success I've had as an instructor, I find it so unfortunate that my willingness to help those who truly want
to become the best they can be as musicians are 'falling through the net'/not being noticed by choir directors, private
voice teachers who care nothing about the success and happiness of any one individual. That one individual could
become an All-Stater, a music major, etc. It takes time, patience, true passion for instruction and a gifted ear that so
few 'teachers' have. My most successful students are the ones that have been told 'YOU CAN'T'...it's so gratifying to
see the faces of students who've proven to themselves that they can accomplish anything with the right guidance. I've
been told that I'm the best...restults may agree with that, but when a student tells me that, I can only say 'thank you'
and assure them that it had far more to do with them than me."
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
