James M. David
Biography
James M. David (b. 1978) is an American composer and professor of music theory and composition at Colorado State University.
As a native of southern Georgia, Dr. David began his musical training under his father Joe A. David, III, a renowned high school band director and professor of music education in the region. This lineage can be heard in his music through the strong influence of jazz and other Southern traditional music mixed with contemporary idioms. Dr. David received degrees in music education and music composition from the University of Georgia and the Florida State University College of Music. He studied composition with Guggenheim recipient Ladislav Kubik and Pulitzer recipient Ellen Taaffe Zwilich as well as jazz composition and arranging with Sammy Nestico.
His is particularly known for his works involving winds and percussion. His works have been performed and recorded by many prominent ensembles including the U.S. Air Force Band, the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own,” the U.S. Army Field Band, the Des Moines Symphony Orchestra, the Showa Wind Symphony (Japan), the Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra, and the North Texas Wind Symphony. His music has been performed at more than sixty national and international conferences including the Midwest Clinic, the College Band Directors National Association Biennial Conference, the American Bandmasters Association Convention, and the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles Conference.
Dr. David was the winner of the 2022 William D. Revelli Composition Contest, a three-time finalist for the Sousa-ABA Ostwald Award, winner of an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, and won national contests sponsored by the Music Teachers National Association and the National Association of Composers (USA). Commissions include projects for the National Band Association, the Atlantic Coast Conference Band Directors Association, Joseph Alessi (New York Philharmonic), John Bruce Yeh (Chicago Symphony), James Markey (Boston Symphony), Zachary Shemon (Prism Quartet), and hundreds of university faculty and ensembles. His works are represented on over twenty commercially released recordings.
Works for Winds
Adaptable Music
- Lookfar (Adaptable Band) (2020)
- March Tumbao (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Menlo Park, 1879 (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Zephyrus (Flex instrumentation) (2019)
All Wind Works
- All Dark Is Now No More (2014)
- Auto '66 (2011)
- Big Four on the River (2014)
- Bright Window (2005)
- Call to Commitment (2021)
- Codex Gigas. See: Symphony No. 1
- Dymaxion (2021)
- E Ala Ē: Arise and Awaken (2024)
- Flying Jewels (2021)
- From the Shaken Tower: Symphony for Percussion and Winds (2014)
- Ghosts of the Old Year (2016)
- Heartland Verses (2019)
- I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (2017)
- Lookfar (Adaptable Band) (2020)
- March Tumbao (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Menlo Park, 1879 (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Message from Arecibo (2023)
- Octarine Spark (2009)
- Pavillons en L'Air (2009)
- Sinfonietta No 1 (2004)
- Sinfonietta No 3: "Strange and Mysterious Waters" (2010)
- Swing Landscape (2018)
- Symphony No. 1 (2020)
- Tesseract (2023)
- Three Summits (2023)
- Troublesome Fire (2022)
- Two-Lane Blacktop (2013)
- Urban Light (2021)
- With Soul Serene (2019)
- Zephyrus (Flex instrumentation) (2019)
Resources
- Grey, Alyssa. "Ghosts of the Old Year." In Teaching Music through Performance in Band. Volume 12, Compiled and edited by Andrew Trachsel, 944-956. Chicago: GIA Publications, 2021.
- James M. David website
- Loyd, Sheridan Monroe. "An Introduction to Composer James M. David." NBA Journal, Summer, 2020, 25-35.