Today we’d like to introduce you to Brian Daw.
Hi Brian, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Brian Daw – Pianist, Composer, and Recording Artist
Brian Daw is a pianist, composer, and recording artist whose career blends academic achievement, decades of teaching, and a deep commitment to sacred music. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in trumpet performance from Brigham Young University in 1976, followed by a Ph.D. in Music History from the University of Southern California in 1984. For twenty years, he taught band and choir in southern Arizona while nurturing a musical home for his five children, where musical performances were weekly occurrences.
As a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Daw developed a distinctive style of arranging and performing hymns and sacred songs, often creating piano medleys for family missionary farewells and church services. In 2005, inspired by a friend’s request to obtain a recording of his music he had just played in a Sacrament Meeting, he began pursuing recording and distribution in earnest. With the encouragement of his wife, Brenda, he acquired a concert grand piano, created a recording studio at home, and launched a new chapter as a recording artist.
Since 2014, Daw has released multiple albums of sacred and inspirational piano music, now available worldwide through digital platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and Pandora. His work—rooted in classical training yet accessible through familiar melodies—has reached audiences far beyond traditional concert settings. His music has been shared in devotionals as far away as Malawi, Africa, offering listeners moments of reflection and spiritual connection.
In November, Daw will be playing concerts at the visitors’ centers of the Temples in Paris and Rome. He has also begun playing at several local hospitals in the waiting areas and lobby, to brighten people’s day and offer pleasant music during a time of great stress.
Now retired from his career as a public school central office administrator, Daw devotes his full time to composing, arranging, recording, and performing. Guided by a belief that technology is a divine gift enabling people to share their talents across the world, he views his music as a means of uplifting the spirit and fulfilling a lifelong calling to be “a light unto the world.”
His song, “Missionary Medley,” will be released in October.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Learning how to record, produce, and promote music is a complex process. During my time at BYU as a trumpet performance major, I had many opportunities to be hired for recording sessions, where I learned a great deal about the process of single and multi-track studio recording. I was able to draw on the experience of my life-long mentor, Newell Dayley, and develop an understanding of the licensing aspects of sound recordings, which was what I was most interested in doing. While at USC, I formed a group that played Renaissance recorders, mostly at weddings in the LA area. We were hired to play in a recording session for Linda Ronstadt at the home of Peter Asher, which contained a recording studio. The session lasted so long that Linda baked my group a loaf of delicious bread while we waited for someone to arrive at the studio! After obtaining my Ph.D. I didn’t pursue musical performance as a trumpet player after being featured as a soloist with the Utah Symphony and BYU Philharmonic in my early twenties because I wanted to have a more stable home life. Raising my family was the top priority.
YouTube has been an important tutor for answering any number of questions regarding the technical aspects of recording and production. The most important aspect of learning something new is just a willingness to dive in and, like Nike says, “Just Do It!”
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I select music that I love, and then I sit down at my piano and start developing an arrangement that fits the character of the song. I have never attempted to display virtuosity at the piano for the sack of virtuosity; rather, my nature and stylistic preferences have been to create and perform contemplative music. In the visual arts, the Impressionists were focused on colors over stylistic visual representations. Displaying technical mastery is not the point of the works of Monet, Renoir, Degas, or Berthe Morisot, they focused more on representing light, reflection, and atmosphere. Similarly, in my music, I focus on the beauty of the sound and tone quality of the piano, the melding of chords and tones to create a stylistic representation of a hymn or song that I believe will resonate with my audience and invite the Holy Spirit. My recent album “Songs of Jesus Christ” (https://music.apple.com/us/album/songs-of-jesus-christ/1552138898) is a prime example of the type of music I create.
I am known for my arrangements and recordings of Latter-day Saints hymns and songs. My primary audience is most active streaming my music throughout the week, but particularly on Sunday. I continue to be amazed by the fact that people around the world access and stream my music, which was a fundamental goal when I started.
What’s next?
I’m not planning any big changes, just a continuation of producing my music. Two of my grandchildren were just called on missions, and I have prepared a medley of songs that I played at their “missionary farewell” several weeks ago. I will be releasing a single in the coming weeks based on the version for sister missionaries with granddaughter Maria on the cover, and one for elders featuring my grandson Lincoln. The medley contains songs that give the listener a biographical sketch of the missionary from the time they were born until they leave home to serve for two years. Bringing souls to Jesus Christ is a unifying factor in my family of 5 married children and 20 grandchildren and the happiness we have experienced in following this path has filled us all with greater love for each other and people in our lives.
I will continue to expand the number of live performances I do each month at some of our local hospitals in the Dallas and Tyler areas.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://briandawmusic.com/
Image Credits
These photos were all taken by my wife, Brenda Daw.
