David Singer was uniformly exhilarating. To describe his playing would be to enumerate a catalogue of virtues.
Joseph Horowitz – The New York Times
An intimate look at life in music
David Stern – 5-Star Amazon Book Review
David Singer’s autobiography, From Cab Driver to Carnegie Hall, is a touching personal memoir of the struggles and triumphs of a highly accomplished classical musician. It gives a detailed portrait of what it is like to be a music student and then a professional musician. In addition to giving an intimate account of Singer’s life, it also touches on positive thinking and faith in God, the power of music to touch people, and the joy of being of service.
From Cab Driver to Carnegie Hall shows how effort and perseverance can turn dreams into reality. The descriptions are fantastic, vividly portraying the environment and capturing the essence of each decade. From Cab Driver to Carnegie Hall is a testament to inspiration and resilience.
Diana Lopez – Readers’ Favorite 5 Star Review
David Singer’s memoir, From Cab Driver to Carnegie Hall, is a captivating journey through a
Literary Titan 5 Star Review
life filled with dramatic contrasts, remarkable resilience, and a passion for music.
I recommend From Cab Driver to Carnegie Hall to anyone who loves music, tales of
perseverance, or stories of triumph over adversity. Singer’s life is a testament to the power of grit
and artistry, offering inspiration to those daring enough to dream big, no matter the odds.
UNIVERSAL APPEAL
David Singer, I am really reading your book now. It is impossible to put down. Bottom line, you are a great writer, David! Your writing is honest and brave. The poetic, descriptive passages “hook you” and you can’t skip over them because they are so beautiful.
Before reading your book I was intimidated because of what you have achieved. Now that I am in the middle of it I find myself instead inspired. Your book is universally appealing. The stories you tell resonate with all who read it.
Joe Tamosaitis – 5-Star Amazon Book Review
A Melodic Journey of Triumph
Karen – 5-Star Amazon Book Review
This is a funny and heartwarming story of a child who learns early in life that obstacles don’t have to equal defeat. By looking each opportunity in the eye and applying a little grit you can achieve your dreams and do what you love in life. Read this book and take this remarkable musician’s journey.
An intimate, candid look at the highs and lows of one musician’s artistic pursuit.
Kirkus Reviews
Sharply observed, articulate, and engaging, Singer’s story is one to understand not just his own career, but that of an entire industry of instrumentalists who make beauty in a sometimes bleak and unforgiving world. If you want to know the reality, as well as the glamour of a musician’s life (and how to have some laughs along the way) this is the book for you.
Rodney Punt
Classical Voice North America, LA Opus, and HuffPost
Like turning on the flame under some hot chocolate on the stove, every time I read about your almost incredulous reaction of “me? when one of the great lights of the musical galaxy invites you to make music and/or a recording with them–well, it just warms my heart with its innocence, at the same time also the power of the vindication of the excellence of your playing. The playing won them to your side. I am on page 194 of your journey and your candor and humanness (the person behind the clarinet rather than a fantasized one-dimensional creation) make your book a living entity, and the other important people in your life not a small part of it.
Benjamin Sawyer, Radio Host
Orchestral Oasis KCSB-FM 91.9 in Santa Barbara
STAND UP COMEDIAN – “has been in car accidents on three continents”
A Courageous Story of a Life in Music
Baron – 5-Star Amazon Book Review
This is an excellent view of an inspired life, and of a life in the turgid world of classical music in the 1960s and 70s by one of its key players. Singer was at the apex of music-making in the musical capital of the world in its peak era. He was the finest clarinetist among many, and reading of his struggles to reach and survive at that peak is stirring. He restores the dignity of being a classical musician that was ravaged by Tindall’s Mozart in the Jungle, which was about the 1980s and a mostly younger generation of players.
This book will pull readers in immediately. Singer’s twists and turns are familiar to all musicians and his incredible career, connections, and stories should be read and known by all clarinetists.
Julianne Kirk Doyle
The Clarinet Magazine – The International Clarinet Society
Everyone interested in music should read this new book: It is one of the best-written memoirs about classical music I have read in a very long time, and about an important career in an important time in classical music’s history. It is also a great counterbalance to the notorious Mozart in the Jungle. It is worth ordering in hardcover if you are a wind player, otherwise paperback, because it’s a keeper. And pretty much a page-turner.
Zlat Zlat – Facebook review
I remain fascinated with the compelling history David Singer has laid out before us. It is a truly heroic account, not only of the trials and tribulations that he encountered in his quest to emerge victorious from a background filled with turmoil, but of the marvelous and precisely-detailed adventures that took him from those humble beginnings to his eventual attainment as a noted artist: one of the world’s great clarinetists.
Dr. Betty Oberacher, Professor Emeritus,
University of California, Santa Barbara
Clarinetist David Singer’s biography, From Cab Driver to Carnegie Hall is a delightful mix of musical detail and life experience. The details of his international adventures and his expressive curiosity shine, and the behind-the-scenes anecdotes are fascinating. The memoir From Cab Driver to Carnegie Hall is energetic, clever, and informative.
IndieReader Book Review
As a Psychology Professor, Clinical Supervisor, and Psychotherapist for over 30 years, of particular importance to me are the dynamics in David Singer’s family of origin. He shares beautifully the deep pain of family relationships and also, after many years of struggle, coming to terms with his family, utilizing these experiences as a source of significant growth. Truly inspirational!
Dr. Ellen Faulk, Professorships
Phillips Graduate University,
Antioch University,
Campbellsville University