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Musical Maven: Life is a Stage
MC3 Ashley M.C. Estrella
July 23, 2018
There’s a common saying that everyone was someone before the Navy. For Aviation Technician 1st Class David Walrath, he was a dance major who minored in music at California State University. Although music was his minor at Cal State, singing has always been a major part of his life.
“I don’t see it as singing officially or unofficially, “said Walrath. “I’ve been singing my entire life.”
Walrath wanted originally to pursue a career in law enforcement. After finding out he didn’t need a criminal justice degree, any bachelors would suffice for his long-term plan, he said why not have fun and study the arts? He decided to sing and dance his way through higher education.
Some of his best memories are from his time at Cal State. There he continued to follow his love of creating emotional experiences for his audience. However, one of his most noteworthy recollections was not delightful.
“I’ve never experienced stage fright, except for a panel of judges in college,” said Walrath. “It wasn’t my lack of talent or practice that made me anxious. They were only there to grade. I feel comfortable when I know people are looking up on stage to simply enjoy a performance. I was a ball of nerves.”
Nevertheless, his talent and experience prevailed. Walrath earned a great grade on his college practical.
Although one of his most impactful memories filled his heart and hands with jitters, another seemed almost euphoric. He was performing in front of one of his favorite stars.
“It filled my heart with joy to perform in front Virginia Mayo,” said Walrath. “It was amazing to sing in front of someone that impacted my love for musicals. I’m supposed to be the one in the audience watching her, and here she is watching me. It was hard to believe.”
He has a distinct mustache. It remains stiff as he speaks. His hair is swooped to a slight wave shining as a spectrum of silver. Walrath stands tall and moves neatly. The aura of the stage is apparent in his stance.
As a child, Walrath remembers sitting wide-eyed looking up at the stage in awe. He also remembers his childhood family vacation to Disneyland where he first saw a Sailor in his dress whites like a scene out of a play. In Walrath’s eyes, life is a stage, the Sailor was the star in the spotlight.
“He had a girl on his arm and a giant stuffed-animal just like in the movies,” said Walrath. “He stood out from the crowd wearing all white. I’ve always thought the Navy’s uniforms were the best out of all of the military branches. It was that moment that inspired me to become a Sailor.”
Now Walrath serves aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) as the command climate specialist. His role is critical to the well-being of Ike Sailors and the ship’s working environment. He has always had a heart for helping others. He hears the concerns of Sailors, conducts surveys and uses focus groups to improve the shipboard quality of life. His Navy career is comprised of 16 years of dedication to professionalism and productivity. Like his major role of improving Ike’s performance, he is dedicated to his love of performing as a maven of musicals.
“I try to have fun, no matter what I do,” said Walrath. “There is a way to find the fun in everything. It is how I try to inspire others. It is where I find my happiness.”
When first meeting Walrath, the impression of is a blend of shy and assertive character traits. Yet, his rather quiet disposition contrasts greatly in comparison to his song-and-dance-persona. Despite the contrasting traits of his personality, his performance mode is fun. Fun is a major part of his identity and his love of musicals.
“My love is musicals,” Walrath said. “Musicals are fun for me and so is the Navy.”
Walrath’s look reflects he is a seasoned Sailor. His shined boots, pressed coveralls and a yellow hat represent the hard work and attention to detail needed for success. The covers are colored-coded to represent the level of experience on Ike’s damage control team. He uses his voice to teach prevention or resolutions for shipboard damage control. Yellow indicates his expertise as a member of Ike’s damage control training team. As a member of the training team, he works diligently to teach and inspire new Sailors. His resonates Navy pride. Walrath it will connect new Sailors to inspiration like the day his eyes were affixed to the first Sailor he saw in uniform as a child. Another Sailor Walrath never officially met, also set him in the direction of joining the Navy.
“I never got to meet my grandfather,” said Walrath. “He gave me his military cover. It is with my mother for safe-keeping.”
Walrath remembers hearing stories of his grandfather who served as a merchant marine. He then became a Lt. in the Navy. He was gifted his grandfather’s cover long before he expressed his interest in joining the military. Not his dad, not his older brother, but Walrath was handed the mantle. However, he inherited more than a uniform item, his grandfather also passed down a powerful and delightful singing voice.
The love Walrath had for the memory of his grandfather is also comparable to the love for his father. Walrath’s parents supported him greatly. His dad could not sing and would often say he couldn’t ‘carry a tune in a bucket’. Despite the lack of musical talent, his mom and dad’s love and encouragement helped him continue to develop his voice over the years.
“My mom came to every talent show, every concert, play and performance,” said Walrath. “She would sit for an hour or more watching all of the other kids just to make sure she could see my performance, even if it only lasted five or ten minutes. She still keeps up with what I may have in the works. She’s been there ever since I was little and I was born in 1969.”
It is almost impossible to quantify Walrath’s number of years as a singer. No matter how anyone asks, the response is for a long as he could remember.
Walrath’s best talent is his vocal abilities. His speaking voice is very mid-level pitched and jolly. His singing voice booms deep as a provocative baritone. Although he minored in music, he had no official vocal lessons. His phenomenal voice is accredited to raw talent and the desire to invoke feelings in the audience.
“When performing, connecting with the audience is key,” said Walrath. “I don’t consider myself a star, but I want to invoke feeling into the spectator. It means something to me to take my passion for what I do and communicate it on stage.”
He performs at the highest professional level. The evidence of such a feat is his involvement as a vocalist. Walrath has experience in the Los Angeles area preforming with the Santa Clarita Master Chorale, an 80-voice ensemble that performs a subscription concert season with an orchestra. Walrath talks about his success in a modest and inspiring manner.
Despite having a bit of stardom and recognition working with Broadway directors and stars, Walrath is not the type to walk around filled with an ego. His nature is humble and joyful, yet he can transform into whatever the stage requires.
“Believing one can become anyone is a big part of the stage experience,” he said.
Costumes are a part of accomplishing the authenticity of the stage experience. Walrath has dressed as a Victorian-era caroler and he has donned a purposely-terrible, big, black mustache and a crudely-fake, brown, side-slicked wig for his character in the musical Guy and Dolls. His costumes have been fun, colorful and too numerous to name.
“It is hard to name my biggest accomplishment as a performer,” said Walrath. “I’ve had some incredible experiences and I’ve worked with the absolute best in the industry. I don’t consider myself a star, but I’ve performed with and for Broadway talent. Some of those stars I looked up to as a child.”
As a result of joining the Navy, the time came for Walrath to see what it felt like for others to look up to him off stage. However, the beginning of his Navy career afforded him the opportunity to continue singing. The level excellence needed to join the choir in A-School was to achieve far above and beyond his peers.
“I performed with the choir at my Navy A-School in Pensacola, Fla.,” said Walrath. “There was a lot of pressure to perform. The auditions were difficult. It was challenging learning how to be a Sailor and sing. Sailors that received less than an excellent or outstanding on uniform or room inspections would get kicked out of the choir.”
Walrath successfully continued his involvement in his Navy A-School choir and went on to perform in the choir aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) (Big E). He enjoyed his time in the Big E choir. Nevertheless, Ike would afford him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sing while on deployment.
He went on a Morale Recreation and Welfare tour to visit an amphitheater in Pompeii, Italy during a port visit. The tour guide wanted to demonstrate the acoustics of an ancient stage built around 70 B.C. Walrath volunteered to sing to a group of about 60 of his fellow shipmates.
Walrath’s voice began to sing at a conversational volume level. The tour guide instructed him to continuing singing and walk around the stage. The melody written around 1788 became more distanced from the crowd. The further Walrath moved away, the lesser the sound.
Nel cor più nom mi sento. (In my heart, I no longer feel)
Brillar la gioventù (The brilliance of youth)
Suddenly, the audience and Walrath were shocked. The song dramatically resounded loudly throughout the ruins. The architectural integrity of the stage was carefully crafted to have a spot solely purposed for amplifying the voice. Not only was everyone surprised by the astounding voice Walrath kept hidden but, there could not have been a more fitting song for a guided tour of an ancient Pompeii amphitheater.
Caigon de mio tormento (The cause of my torment)
Amor, sei colpa tu. (Love, it’s your fault!)
Walrath sang an Italian love song about heartbreak and ruin while standing in Italian ruins. It was a way to experience history and honor the past. Sailors often use their talents to render honor to friends and family.
Walrath was called to honor his fellow shipmate. On May 11, 2018, he put on his cherished dress white uniform to sing at a memorial service for Sonar Technician (Surface) 1st Class Michael C. Guerrier on Ike. Guerrier passed away in early May. As singing filled Ike’s hangar bay, Walrath once again, filled the hearts of those around him with the comforting gift of song during a time of bereavement.
“It means something to me to be able to invoke feelings,“ he said. “It is about creating an emotional experience and I want to be the one to invoke it. For me, it is about connection. It is about leaving the audience with something to feel.”
Walrath is pleased with the artful expression he has developed over the years. Whether his voice is bellowing out a song filling an amphitheater somewhere around the world or raised during Navy drills and ceremonies; he hopes it strikes passion in the hearts of others.
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| Date Taken: | 07.23.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.27.2018 11:34 |
| Story ID: | 305275 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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