David Gracia

A native of Zaragoza, Spain, David Gracia has, for almost two decades, made his home in New York City, where he earned a Bachelor of Music in piano performance and a Master of Arts in musicology, both degrees summa cum laude, from the Aaron Copland School of Music of Queens College (CUNY). He also holds a Post-Graduate Sistema Fellowship, summa cum laude, from the New England Conservatory.
 
David founded and led two El Sistema-inspired organizations in New York City: the nonprofit “Orchestrating Dreams” and the WHIN Music Community Charter School, the first elementary charted school in the country modeled after the principles of El Sistema. Concurrently, he also served as Manager of Artist Training Programs at Carnegie Hall, as well as Associate Music Director of “Playground Sessions” (a music software company co-created by Quincy Jones). David has also held senior fundraising positions with New York City’s Mark Morris Dance Group and Kaufman Music Center, and the Jupiter 360 Foundation. Outside of his work in the nonprofit sector, David enjoys spending time on his other passions: his family, making music, and real estate.