Dave Soldier

Dave Soldier
with Jojo of the Thai Elephant Orchestra, courtesy Mulatta Records
Background information
Also known as	David Sulzer
Born	(1956-11-06) November 6, 1956 (age 60)
Origin	Carbondale, Illinois
Genres	Experimental music Worldbeat Classical music Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, Composer,
Instruments	violin, keyboards, guitar, banjo, electronics
Years active	1988 to Present
Labels	Mulatta, Newport Classic
Associated acts	Soldier String Quartet The Kropotkins Thai Elephant Orchestra Soldier Kane Manhattan Chamber Orchestra John Cale
Website	[1][2]

Dave Soldier (born David Sulzer; November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist at Columbia University who is better known as a composer and musician in a variety of genres including avant-garde, classical, and jazz.

Many of Dave Soldier's works are collaborative. This includes collaborating with animals such as with the Thai Elephant Orchestra which he co-founded with conservationist Richard Lair, based on the observation that elephants are said to enjoy listening to music; however, it had not been known if they would perform on musical instruments. This ensemble consists of up to 14 elephants at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang, and is listed by Guinness as the world's largest animal orchestra, with a combined weight of approximately 23 tonnes (50,706 lb). He built giant musical instruments on which he trained the elephants to improvise: they eventually played on 22 instruments. The orchestra has released three CDs and play an abbreviated concert daily at the Conservation Center.

He also created specially designed instruments for music played by zebra finches and pygmy chimpanzees, the latter in collaborations with physicist Gordon Shaw, who researched classical music's effect on the brain and introduced the Mozart effect.

Soldier has made multiple recordings in which he coached child composers in different cultures. He and flutist Katie Down coached free improvisation with The Tangerine Awkestra featuring 2-10 year old Brooklyn schoolchildren. Da HipHop Raskalz featured rap and dub tracks performed (including the instrumental tracks) by 5-10 year old East Harlem children, who had no previous experience playing instruments. Soldier and the santur player Alan Kushan produced Yol K'u with Mayan Indian children from the Seeds of Knowledge School in the high mountains of San Mateo Ixtatan, Guatemala, a collaboration using giant marimbas. He produced a CD, Les Enfants des Tyabala, by the jazz musician Sylvian Leroux who coached children in Conakry, Guinea to form an ensemble of the traditional Fula flute.