Years active 1979–present Children 2 | Name David Courtney Role Writer | |
Full Name David Richard Courtney Born 21 September 1953 (age 71) ( 1953-09-21 ) Houston, Texas, USA Occupation Musician, writer, film-maker, political activist Spouse(s) Chandra Courtney (1978-present) Website http://chandrakantha.com http://takingbackdemocracy.comDavid and Chandrakantha Courtney's Homepage-Indian Musicians ContentsPolitical party Green Party of the United States Parents Jo Ann Courtney, Cecil Joseph Courtney | ||
David Richard Courtney (born September 21, 1953) is an artist, writer, and political activist. He is best known for his writings on the South Asian hand drums known as the tabla. He made an unsuccessful bid for Texas State Senate under the Green Party of Texas in both the 2012 and 2014 race.
Artistic career
He began his study of the Indian tabla in 1972. In January 1975 he enrolled in the Ali Akbar College of Music in California where he initially studied tabla but then studied pakhawaj under Zakir Hussain. In 1976 he moved to Hyderabad India and began studying tabla and pakhawaj under the late Shaik Dawood Khan. He remained a student until Shaik Dawood Khan's death in 1992. It was also during this period that he studied santur under the late Hassan Mohamad, and dilruba under Sayed-ur-Rehman Jigar. Later he also studied sarangi under Aslam Khan of Hyderabad. Mr. Courtney has worked on numerous CD, vinyl disks, stage performances, as well as performance tours and workshops. From 2003 to 2010 he was a co-producer and presenter for KPFT's world music program "Music Beyond Borders" in Houston.
After 2000, he began to turn his attention to the genre of music videos. In this regard he won awards at the Worldfest: Houston International Film Festival.
Writer
David Courtney has over 60 publications spreading over the last 35 years. The majority of these works are on Indian music, computers, and musical technology.
Politics
His political activism began in 2001 when he became involved in the anti-war movement that was a reaction to the war in Iraq. During this period he was on the steering committee of the "Houston Coalition for Justice Not War". He was also involved in the "Tejas Block" that protested at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. During this period he also began to be involved in voter registration activities in minority communities.
It was in 2004 that he started to make the transition from street level political activism to partisan politics. This transition began when he became active in Dennis Kucinich's failed bid for the US Presidency. David remained active in the local Democratic Party until he switched to the Green Party in 2011. In both 2012 and 2014 he filed his candidacy for the Texas State Senate for District 17. He was unsuccessful in both of these bids. He also did a two year as the Treasurer of the Texas State Green Party.
Personal life
In 1976 he married the Indian vocalist Chandra Courtney. They have two children, a son and a daughter.