David Post in the Press

David Post ‘retires’, travels, sings and teaches

By Carole Brodsky | cbrodsky@advocate-news.com

PUBLISHED: July 24, 2026 at 6:00 AM PDT

David Post celebrating a successful run of The Lion King with Ukrainian Refugee performers who now live in Poland. Post is launching a non-profit to bring the arts, music and performance to refugee children. (Contributed)

“June was my last month teaching,” smiles David Post, long-time jazz singer, choir and musical theatre director, vocal coach, and all-around good guy.

Now that he’s retired, Post is focusing on his next projects, which include some exciting offerings for Mendocino County residents.

“I had an incredible time working for two years as Nokomis School’s K-5 music instructor. Each classroom did their own musical. There were a lot of kids for which English wasn’t their first language. Others had no experience with acting, singing or being on stage. These were simple, humble productions. The students’ spirits and energy were perfect. We did double casting so more children had chances to perform. If someone was absent, another student stepped forward to play the role. That’s what I was hoping for- creating enough emotional safety that kids would feel brave enough to do something brave. I made beautiful connections with students and families. It was an emotional farewell, but we had a blast.”

Post is well-attuned to the vibrations of children. As a child of psychologist (and passionate basketball player) Berle Post and beloved local therapist Esther Faber, Post had a head start in the art of being an awake, aware and kind person. He was one of the early students at Mariposa School- the private school on Low Gap Road famously founded by a cadre of Stanford graduates and back-to-the-landers, who combined pedagogic training with an ethic of whole-person learning. All of this left its mark on Post, who spent a major portion of his career working with kids- as a choir director, writer of children’s musical plays, and vocal coach.

“My high school girlfriend, Maria Dalpino, got me into musical theatre. I was 16, living at the legendary Uptown Apartments, across the street from the Palace Hotel. Maria said, “If you love me, go to Ukiah Players Theatre and try out for Dracula-la. I got picked to be the bellboy. Bob Currier was the director, and the play was performed in the Palace Ballroom. Max Forseter, the musical director wrote a song for me- The Boogie Woogie Bellboy Blues. After the show, the owner of the Palace Hotel comes up to me. I had previously applied for a job there, but the assistant manager told me I was too young. The owner, Pat Kuleto, says to me, “Son, how’d you like to be the bellboy at my hotel?” When he found out I accepted the job, that assistant manager was furious!” Post laughs. “I had the best job in town. I was making $100 a night in 1978, wearing a tailor-made bellhop suit, complete with the pillbox hat with the strap. It was an incredibly beautiful hotel.”

The next thing? “Finding the good ways to serve people and do what I love,” he continues.

Post recently returned from Western Ukraine near Lviv, teaching English to 10–11-year-olds. “It was incredible. Those kids have guts and determination.”

Two years ago, Post went to Poland, directing Ukrainian refugee children who put on a production of The Lion King. “This year,  in Warsaw, I gave them ideas and materials to work on a production of Aladdin. They rehearsed for three months on their own. I came to help for the last five days. They knew what they were doing, and I got to be with this group of wonderful kids.”

From these experiences, Post has decided to establish a non-profit organization to help bring joy and relief to Ukrainian refugee children by giving them experiences in musical theatre- taught and performed in English in Western Ukraine and other countries.

“I’d love to connect with volunteers, sponsors, donors, and community members who want to help bring arts and music programs to Ukrainian children. Children didn’t choose this war. I can bring some joy, confidence, music, friendship, and hope into their lives, so I feel called to use those skills. Next summer I will be collaborating with Kyiv City Ballet to produce a musical theatre camp for Ukrainian children near Paris. Soon I will be hosting a meeting in Ukiah for people who want to support this and other projects like it.”

Post just returned from a jazz singer’s dream in Lisbon, Portugal, where Kirill Bubyakin, a dear friend and musician, just put together a saxophone big band.

“Kirill is a wonderful musician, originally from St. Petersburg. He got his family out of Russia before the borders closed and started a new life in Lisbon. He went from being the prince of the Russian jazz scene to painting boat bottoms and fixing cars to survive. After three years in Portugal, he’s got some traction. He invited me to write lyrics for two songs he had written for his new Lisbon Saxophones big band—16 saxophones with rhythm section. I came up with the lyrics and got to sing those songs at the group’s debut concert. Kirill has now been officially blessed by the Lisbon jazz mafia,” Post smiles. He will be returning to Lisbon for more concerts in September.

Post has dedicated years of his life to jazz singing, which brought him opportunities to perform with some of the music’s finest artists. He has appeared alongside Bobby McFerrin, Eric Alexander, Joe Farnsworth, and other jazz greats.

“I feel as though I understood jazz intuitively from the beginning. I can’t explain why,” Post says. “I discovered jazz when I was about 20 and began studying it seriously. Sometimes I feel that I haven’t paid enough dues to earn the stamp of approval of top players. Somehow, these opportunities keep happening, and I don’t take any of them for granted.”

“I’m going to Tokyo in October for one reason. I’ll have the chance to sing every night at different clubs with different musicians—a wonderful way to learn, grow, and truly cut my teeth.”

Post’s first choral job was in the 80’s, and choral singing continues to be a passion for him.

“I’d been in choir at Cabrillo College for about two years. St. Stephens Lutheran Church in Santa Cruz needed a choral director. At the interview, I was told, ‘You’re going to conduct the choir. Pick your music. You have 15 minutes.’ I’d had just one experience leading a choir prior to that. I introduced myself to the choir and started warm-ups- same as my choir at Cabrillo. I selected Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring because I knew it. Forty minutes later, I was hired. I was thrilled. I loved it so much. I went on to become a choral music major at the University of the Pacific.”

From there, being a school choir director became Post’s life.
“I wasn’t a theatre person—it was choir for me. That was all I thought about. In Fort Bragg, I became the director of choral music for kids at the school from 4th-12th grade. Nothing prepares you for your first day of teaching, and the week before classes started, I was scared. Then a song came on MTV- Bobby McFerrin’s Don’t Worry, Be Happy. I thought, ‘That’s the song I’m going to do the first day of class. It was a gift from God. Over my six years there, we had the reputation for being one of the better choral programs in Northern California.”

“I needed more boys in the choir. New Kids on the Block were a huge sensation. So I created Young Men Who Wail. A bunch of kids auditioned. I think they liked me because I played basketball. We had 11 boys wearing jean jackets and T-shirts, singing songs by New Kids at Fort Bragg Middle School. The girls were all screaming,” he laughs.

“I needed to recruit more kids, so I asked the administration if I could take choir members to Great America. We made the announcement- ‘If you join the choir, you’re going to Great America.’ The next morning, the entire corridor filled up with 90 kids. I kept them all, and we rehearsed five mornings a week. There was a lot of talent in that group. 70 kids stuck it out and got to Great America. At the end of the year show, we did a 50’s concert. Everyone who wanted to got to do a solo. I hired a bass player, drummer, and guitarist, and we packed Cotton Auditorium with 900 people- all this from a crazy, 27-year-old kid who’d never taught before. Two years ago, the alumni and I celebrated our 30th anniversary in Fort Bragg with two nights of singing, eating, and fun.”

With that experience in mind, Post has decided to start up Ukiah Young Voices in January of 2027. The choir will be for children 9–13 years old, with one beginning and one advanced group. Signups and all information will be posted on David’s website.

Additionally, Post is offering a Jazz Workshop in solo vocal jazz singing on August 6th and 7th. It will take place at Mama’s Jazz Hall, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The workshop will cover jazz phrasing, rhythm, good literature, interpretation, vocal expression, stage presence, and practical techniques singers can use immediately. Mama’s Jazz Hall is located at 328 N. State Street. Pre-registration is required as all participants receive a private coaching session with David prior to the workshop.

Post is also working to publish the scores from his wonderful, original or adapted shows: Trouble in Fuzzyland, Chocolate Town, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Three or More Pigs and Somewhat Bad Wolves.

Post’s biggest project is the launching of Vocalogy- a new training method he developed, blending psychology and voice training to help people rediscover their authentic voice. He believes virtually everyone can develop and improve their singing voice. Designed for people who have spent years believing they can’t sing, the program invites participants to question and rewrite a story some have carried for years.
“Roughly a third of people believe they can’t sing. Most arrive at that conclusion because someone tells them they can’t- an impatient parent or a teasing sibling who says, ‘Shut your trap, you can’t sing.’ Vocalogy challenges the idea that one person’s careless judgment should define one’s musical identity.”

“I believe that when people stop singing, they can also silence something much deeper. ‘I can’t sing,’ can become, ‘I’m not musical,’ then, ‘I’m not creative,’ and sometimes, ‘I’m not good enough.’ But as assumptions fall away, participants can rediscover confidence, creativity and lost parts of themselves, in addition to their voice.”

The program takes just one 45-minute session. People begin by telling their story of how they came to believe they couldn’t sing. “We examine where that belief came from- and whether the person who discouraged them had any right to make that judgment. Through a series of simple listening and vocal exercises, I help people develop the ability to hear and match pitch. For many, it’s the first qualified, constructive assessment they’ve ever received. They discover they’re capable of far more than they ever imagined.”

“No one has yet developed a codified method for helping people through this kind of transformation. I believe that’s what Vocalogy can become. Ultimately, I want to use technology to make this accessible to people all over the world.”

Post will be studying to get his master’s in psychology, with Vocalogy being his dissertation, while also building an app-based course where people can learn to re-write their story.

“Why do all this? I talked with my mom about it. We’re put on this planet to find a way we can be here and do something of service that matches our skills. What are my gifts that help the world and feel good? Music and theatre are the common denominators. I’m so grateful. Each one of these projects is connected to my heart and my life. Now I have time and space to actually do these things, plus be close to my family here in Mendocino County,” he concludes.

Visit Post’s website at www.davidpostnow.com or email him at david@thevocalogist.com.