Darita Seth

Darita Seth is Cambodian-American conductor, haute-contre and composer. He has served as the founder, president and director of Choral Audacity, a Bay-Area based ensemble that focuses on centering the stories of BIPOC and other marginalized communities through choral music. Prior conducting affiliations include St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Long Beach, Calif.; St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Danville, Calif.; Danville Girls Chorus; Cantabella Children’s Chorus; and the Grammy-award winning Pacific Boychoir Academy.

Seth's voice is praised for his “technical deliciousness; power and precision of the connection between the colors of the voice; and beauty of delivery,” (Aspen Music Festival). He has been featured in performances of choral masterworks including Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Durufle’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah. In 2016, he concluded his tenure with Chanticleer, the Grammy-award winning, San Francisco-based men’s vocal ensemble. He is currently singing with the Grammy-award winning Los Angeles Master Chorale. Additionally, Seth has recorded with AireBorn Studios (Zionsville, IN), featuring his voice on premiere recordings for various new music publications. He has performed in many notable international concert venues including Musikverein in Vienna, Austria; The Liszt Grand Concert Hall in Budapest, Hungary; Endler Hall in Stellenbosch, South Africa; The National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan; and The Esplanade in Singapore. His voice has led him to sing under the baton of some of the nation’s leading composers and conductors such as Eric Whitacre, Jake Runestad, Grant Gershon and Gustavo Dudamel. Most recently, his voice is featured singing Handel's Ombra Mai Fu in the film score to the movie "The Tutor."

As a freelance composer, Seth is recognized by the National youngARTS Foundation and continues to write for the Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Choral Series for Choral Audacity.

He is a published choral music editor with Hinshaw Music Publications with his own writings published through Pavane Publishing.

In 2016, he received the John Ness Beck Foundation Scholarship to study composing and arranging with Craig Courtney, Dan Forrest and Howard Helvey. Choral Audacity's viral performance of his arrangement of Champa Battambang has garnered over a million views on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram with the majority of its viewership in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Seth holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Capital University’s Conservatory of Music and a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSU Long Beach. Additionally, he is a proud alumnus of the Interlochen Arts Academy and Camp where he participated in the composition, opera and choral programs. He is an active member of ACDA, NATS, ASCAP and is a Sigma Alpha Iota distinguished member.

Outside of music and teaching, Seth enjoys cooking meals from his proud Cambodian-American heritage, weight-lifting, traveling with his partner and being a dog-dad to his American Dingo, Remy Martin.