David Haas resides in Eagan, Minnesota, and serves as the Director of The Emmaus Center for Music, Prayer and Ministry and as Animator for the Cretin-Derham Hall Taize’ Prayer Community in St. Paul. He has created and produced more than 50 collections of original liturgical music, much of it sung and prayed throughout the world.
David's most recent recording and publishing projects with GIA Publications are I Will Live On; God Is Everywhere!; Mass of Christ Our Hope; and Cry Out with Joy (a four-volume resource of music for the Liturgy of the Word with fellow composers Lori True, Sr. Kathleen Harmon, Paul Tate, and Stephen Pishner). A brand new release, With Gratitude, a CD collection celebrating the liturgical music legacy of David together with Marty Haugen and Michael Joncas has just been released with GIA, and the 20th Anniversary edition of the made-for-TV concert, Glory Day: David Haas and Friends in Concert, has just been released by Fransiscan Media.
In addition to his music projects with GIA, David has also recently authored three books with Clear Faith Publishing (www.clearfaithpublishing.com): Welcome, Faithful Presence: A Week of Praying the Hours with Henri Nouwen; Blessed Are the Merciful: Celebrating the Stations of Mercy; and Walk With Christ: Celebrating the Stations of the Nativity, the Cross, and the Resurrection. Two brand new books with Clear Faith include: Praying As Living Reminders: Morning and Evening Prayer with Henri Nouwen, and My Heart Is Ready: Psalms for Prayer and Proclamation.The second edition of his highly acclaimed book Music and the Mass (LTP Publications) was also released in 2013, and Welcome, Faithful Presence just recently received two awards from both the Catholic Press Association and the Association of Catholic Publishers for Excellence in Prayer and Spirituality.
A native of Bridgeport, Michigan and the Diocese of Saginaw, David was born May 4, 1957 and was raised in an environment where faith, music, theatre and the arts flourished almost 24 hours a day. David’s father, Bob, was a professional music educator, pianist, teacher, music retailer and organist; his mother Joan was a singer, voice instructor, public school music teacher, and church choir director. David is the middle child of three, all who grew up very involved in concerts, recitals, lessons, theatre, and parish life (and lots of practicing and rehearsals!). His older brother Jeffrey studied voice, music education and theatre in college and for many years has worked as a professional actor and director, with a particular passion for the works of Shakespeare. His younger sister Colleen is an accomplished percussionist and visual artist holding a PhD in ethnomusicology, active as a teacher and world music specialist. A 1975 graduate of Bridgeport High School. David studied vocal music performance, piano, and conducting at Central Michigan University, and completed his studies in music performance, liturgy, and theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. David formerly served as director of music and liturgy at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Ankeny, Iowa, and the Church of St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul Park, Minnesota, as well as formerly serving on the faculty as composer-in-residence at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, and at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Minneapolis.
In the 1980’s, alone and in partnership with fellow Minnesotans Michael Joncas and Marty Haugen, David helped to influence the direction of new liturgical music genres and resources that emerged as a result of the renewal of the Second Vatican Council. He has composed and produced over 50 collections and recordings of original liturgical music with GIA Publications and is highly regarded as one of the pre-eminent liturgical composers in the English-speaking world. Many of his songs, hymns and psalm settings such as “Blest Are They,” “You Are Mine,” “We Are Called,” “We Have Been Told,” “Now We Remain,” “Song of the Body of Christ,” “The Lord Is My Light,” “Deep Within,” “Send Us Your Spirit,” and “The Name of God” have become an integral part of the liturgical prayer of believers everywhere. David’s music appears in many hymnals and anthologies for numerous Christian denominations throughout the world, and alone and together with fellow liturgical composer Lori True, he presently continues to present workshops, retreats, and concerts at parish events and national conferences throughout the country and other parts of the world, having presented in all 50 states and Guam, several provinces of Canada, as well as England, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Greece, Israel, The Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand, The Philippines and Singapore.
For many years David has been an international advocate for the role of young people in the life of the church. He is the founder and executive director of Music Ministry Alive! (www.musicministryalive.com), a national liturgical music formation program for high school and college-aged youth that has “graduated” more than 2300 students during the past 18 years, many of whom are now serving as pastoral musicians and in other areas of ministry. He formerly served on the national advisory council for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and also has been a guest instructor for several undergraduate and graduate courses at numerous colleges and universities.
David has authored more than 30 books in the areas of liturgy, liturgical music, youth ministry, catechesis, prayer, and spirituality and has served as a consultant to several catechetical and educational publishers. He is featured on the catechetical video Teach Us to Pray: Praying the Psalms (Franciscan Media) and collaborated with Sr. Helen Prejean CSJ on two projects addressing the death penalty, Death No More (video program with Harcourt Religion Publishers) and The Death Penalty: The Catholic Viewpoint (Franciscan Media). David has written articles for Pastoral Music, Catechumenate, Connect, and the GIA Quarterly.
In 1991 David was nominated for a Grammy Award for the recording of I Shall See God, and his book The Ministry and Mission of Sung Prayer (Fransiscan Media) received the Outstanding Professional Book Award from the Catholic Press Association in 2003. Along with Michael Joncas and Marty Haugen, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995 from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. In 2004 David was named Pastoral Musician of the Year by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, and that same year he received the Crosier Award for Outstanding Service in Ministry. In 2014 The National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) awarded David the “Emmaus Award for Excellence in Catechesis” for his contributions to catechetical ministry, and in 2015 he received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Portland in Oregon. On this occasion of him receiving this degree, this was said of David:
“His work has elevated hearts, shivered souls, and gathered millions together in prayer and song. This is great and holy work.”
Stay connected with David on his Facebook Artist Page: David Haas, Liturgical Composer, Author and Recording Artist (come by and give it a “like!”). For workshop and concert scheduling information, contact him at: [email protected].
David's most recent recording and publishing projects with GIA Publications are I Will Live On; God Is Everywhere!; Mass of Christ Our Hope; and Cry Out with Joy (a four-volume resource of music for the Liturgy of the Word with fellow composers Lori True, Sr. Kathleen Harmon, Paul Tate, and Stephen Pishner). A brand new release, With Gratitude, a CD collection celebrating the liturgical music legacy of David together with Marty Haugen and Michael Joncas has just been released with GIA, and the 20th Anniversary edition of the made-for-TV concert, Glory Day: David Haas and Friends in Concert, has just been released by Fransiscan Media.
In addition to his music projects with GIA, David has also recently authored three books with Clear Faith Publishing (www.clearfaithpublishing.com): Welcome, Faithful Presence: A Week of Praying the Hours with Henri Nouwen; Blessed Are the Merciful: Celebrating the Stations of Mercy; and Walk With Christ: Celebrating the Stations of the Nativity, the Cross, and the Resurrection. Two brand new books with Clear Faith include: Praying As Living Reminders: Morning and Evening Prayer with Henri Nouwen, and My Heart Is Ready: Psalms for Prayer and Proclamation.The second edition of his highly acclaimed book Music and the Mass (LTP Publications) was also released in 2013, and Welcome, Faithful Presence just recently received two awards from both the Catholic Press Association and the Association of Catholic Publishers for Excellence in Prayer and Spirituality.
A native of Bridgeport, Michigan and the Diocese of Saginaw, David was born May 4, 1957 and was raised in an environment where faith, music, theatre and the arts flourished almost 24 hours a day. David’s father, Bob, was a professional music educator, pianist, teacher, music retailer and organist; his mother Joan was a singer, voice instructor, public school music teacher, and church choir director. David is the middle child of three, all who grew up very involved in concerts, recitals, lessons, theatre, and parish life (and lots of practicing and rehearsals!). His older brother Jeffrey studied voice, music education and theatre in college and for many years has worked as a professional actor and director, with a particular passion for the works of Shakespeare. His younger sister Colleen is an accomplished percussionist and visual artist holding a PhD in ethnomusicology, active as a teacher and world music specialist. A 1975 graduate of Bridgeport High School. David studied vocal music performance, piano, and conducting at Central Michigan University, and completed his studies in music performance, liturgy, and theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. David formerly served as director of music and liturgy at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Ankeny, Iowa, and the Church of St. Thomas Aquinas in St. Paul Park, Minnesota, as well as formerly serving on the faculty as composer-in-residence at the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity in St. Paul, and at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Minneapolis.
In the 1980’s, alone and in partnership with fellow Minnesotans Michael Joncas and Marty Haugen, David helped to influence the direction of new liturgical music genres and resources that emerged as a result of the renewal of the Second Vatican Council. He has composed and produced over 50 collections and recordings of original liturgical music with GIA Publications and is highly regarded as one of the pre-eminent liturgical composers in the English-speaking world. Many of his songs, hymns and psalm settings such as “Blest Are They,” “You Are Mine,” “We Are Called,” “We Have Been Told,” “Now We Remain,” “Song of the Body of Christ,” “The Lord Is My Light,” “Deep Within,” “Send Us Your Spirit,” and “The Name of God” have become an integral part of the liturgical prayer of believers everywhere. David’s music appears in many hymnals and anthologies for numerous Christian denominations throughout the world, and alone and together with fellow liturgical composer Lori True, he presently continues to present workshops, retreats, and concerts at parish events and national conferences throughout the country and other parts of the world, having presented in all 50 states and Guam, several provinces of Canada, as well as England, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Greece, Israel, The Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand, The Philippines and Singapore.
For many years David has been an international advocate for the role of young people in the life of the church. He is the founder and executive director of Music Ministry Alive! (www.musicministryalive.com), a national liturgical music formation program for high school and college-aged youth that has “graduated” more than 2300 students during the past 18 years, many of whom are now serving as pastoral musicians and in other areas of ministry. He formerly served on the national advisory council for the National Association of Pastoral Musicians and also has been a guest instructor for several undergraduate and graduate courses at numerous colleges and universities.
David has authored more than 30 books in the areas of liturgy, liturgical music, youth ministry, catechesis, prayer, and spirituality and has served as a consultant to several catechetical and educational publishers. He is featured on the catechetical video Teach Us to Pray: Praying the Psalms (Franciscan Media) and collaborated with Sr. Helen Prejean CSJ on two projects addressing the death penalty, Death No More (video program with Harcourt Religion Publishers) and The Death Penalty: The Catholic Viewpoint (Franciscan Media). David has written articles for Pastoral Music, Catechumenate, Connect, and the GIA Quarterly.
In 1991 David was nominated for a Grammy Award for the recording of I Shall See God, and his book The Ministry and Mission of Sung Prayer (Fransiscan Media) received the Outstanding Professional Book Award from the Catholic Press Association in 2003. Along with Michael Joncas and Marty Haugen, he was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1995 from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. In 2004 David was named Pastoral Musician of the Year by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, and that same year he received the Crosier Award for Outstanding Service in Ministry. In 2014 The National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) awarded David the “Emmaus Award for Excellence in Catechesis” for his contributions to catechetical ministry, and in 2015 he received an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from the University of Portland in Oregon. On this occasion of him receiving this degree, this was said of David:
“His work has elevated hearts, shivered souls, and gathered millions together in prayer and song. This is great and holy work.”
Stay connected with David on his Facebook Artist Page: David Haas, Liturgical Composer, Author and Recording Artist (come by and give it a “like!”). For workshop and concert scheduling information, contact him at: [email protected].