Cabaret/Vocal Music Star David Gurland, Dies at 43

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David Gurland, a graduate of the O'Neill Cabaret Symposium in the early 1990s who would go on to become a cabaret singer of tremendous renown, as well as a contributing vocalist to the group Uptown Express, suffered a massive brain aneurysm on December 29, and passed away on Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 4:52pm. He was 43 years old. Sources close to Gurland and his partner, actor/singer Rob Maitner, confirmed that, although his death was reported last week, he was kept on life support until Saturday, to enable organ donation.

A native of the New Jersey enclave of Maplewood, with theatrical and vocal aspirations from the very beginning, Gurland officially hit New York as a student at NYU, after completing study at Columbia High School. While continuing his studies, he discovered piano bars and subsequently cabaret,  and took a proud place at the O'Neill alongside other future beacons of the genre. By the time he made his official debut at the now-defunct Eighty Eight's, he was clearly home before he began. He also, more recently, began appearing and recording with Uptown Express, a small vocal group comprised of members from the New York Gay Men's Chorus, and he was nothing if not an extremely out and proud  Gay man himself. In his lifetime, he received the Hanson Award (Most Promising Newcomer) at the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs annual ceremony, as well as seven additional MAC nominations and four Back Stage Bistro Awards, making him the first artist to receive so many from the same organization.

Aside from his deep love for life partner Rob Maitner, Gurland took tremendous pride in the home the two shared, and always considered shopping a particular passion. He was also known for unending loyalty to those he considered his very best friends, and counted among them people he'd known for thirty years or more.

For more information about David Gurland's performance career and the brilliant musical legacy he leaves behind, please visit http://www.davidgurland.com.

***The families of Mr. Gurland and Mr. Maitner released the following statement:

"The world today sounds a little less sweet now that David has gone on to the next part of his journey, but his essence will live on forever in the recordings he left behind and the music he has left in our hearts. David lived grandly, loved fiercely, sang beautifully and danced terribly. And that is exactly how we hope the world remembers him. What many do not know is that David was also an organ recipient, having had a double corneal transplant in the 1990's. It is with great joy that we may help David close a profoundly beautiful circle and donate his organs so that others may have the gift of life."

David Gurland was also a fierce advocate for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender issues. As such, the family asks that, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made in David's name to the Ali Forney Center for GLBT homeless youth. The Ali Forney Center is located at 224 West 35th Street, Suite 1102, New York, NY 10001. To learn more about the Ali Forney Center or to donate online, go to http://www.aliforneycenter.org/ .