Mexican conductor and organist Dr. David Castillo Gocher currently serves as the Music Director of the Family of the Most Holy Eucharist—a family of five parishes. In this role, he oversees music programs across all locations, conducts traditional choirs and instrumental ensembles, curates the music series, and provides organ music for services and recitals.

In Cincinnati, David founded Ensemble con Fuoco (Ensemble with Fire), a professional vocal group dedicated to chamber choral music spanning all periods and styles. Now in residence at St. Catharine of Siena, the ensemble has recently presented works such as Brahms’, Duruflé’s, and Fauré’s Requiems, Handel’s Dixit Dominus, MacMillan’s Cantos Sagrados, and a program that explores the interplay between contemporary and early choral music.

During his doctoral studies in Chicago, David served as Music Director at First Methodist Church of Evanston, where he led a festival choir in symphonic choral works—including Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Fauré’s Requiem, Honegger’s King David, and Beethoven’s Mass in C. While in Chicago, he also worked as a collaborative pianist, organist, and harpsichordist, accompanying professional, amateur, and university ensembles.

As an organist, David has performed in more than ten U.S. states and throughout his native Mexico. Notably, he made his Chicago Symphony Center debut playing the organ for Fauré’s Requiem under Simon Carrington, and he has held music director and organist posts in Massachusetts and Texas.

 

David earned a master’s degree in Sacred Music and Choral Conducting from Boston University, where he conducted the Concert Choir, accompanied the Women’s Choir, and served as a student organist for the School of Theology’s worship services. Following his graduation from BU, he worked as a Music Specialist for Milford High School and served as the music director of the Harbour Choral Arts Society. He holds an undergraduate degree in music, earned magna cum laude, from Texas Christian University.

In Mexico, David served as a choral conductor for the National Convention of the Disciples of Christ and its All-State College Chorus, leading numerous performances nationwide. He has also been a visiting lecturer in sacred music at the National Seminary of the Disciples of Christ.

 

A passionate advocate for the arts and the nonprofit sector in Cincinnati, David serves on the boards of the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra and Keep Cincinnati Beautiful, and he is a grant reviewer for Cincinnati ArtsWave. He previously served on the advisory council of the Cincinnati Boychoir.

 

David earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts in conducting from Northwestern University, studying under Dr. Robert Harris and Dr. Donald Nally. At Northwestern, he was the Assistant Conductor of the Northwestern Singers, accompanied the Women's Choir, and assisted with conducting classes, with his research focusing on the role of Liberation Theology in the choral and organ works of James MacMillan.