Since January 2016, David (°Kortrijk – Belgium, 30-12-1991) holds the position of principal double bass of the ’Orchestra della Svizzera italiana’ in Lugano. As guest principal bass he has been invited in ‘Orchestre de Paris’. From 2013-2015 he worked as principal bass with ‘Brussels Philharmonic’.
David started studying double bass at the age of 9 at the local school of music in Harelbeke, Belgium. There, he studied under Prof. Isabelle Brys. During this initial period, he was laureate of several national competitions for young musicians. David then continued his studies at the Royal Brussels Conservatory of Music under Prof. Frank Coppieters and at the London ‘Guildhall School of Music and Drama’ with Prof. Rinat Ibragimov. In June 2013, David obtained his Master Degree with the highest honor at the Royal Brussels Conservatory of Music. In November 2013, being laureate of the Brussels Conservatory, David was awarded the ‘Prix Mathilde E. Horlait-Dapsens’, a grant awarded to the best graduates of the arts and medicine studies in Belgium. In June 2017, David finished a Soloist Diploma with the highet honor at the ‘Musikhochschule Freiburg’ under Prof. Bozo Paradzik.
David has won several prizes in international solo double bass competitions. He won the first prize at the International Double Bass Competition Brno 2011, held during the 11th International Double Bass Convention in Brno (Czech Republic) . He was winner of the third prize at the IV International Serge Koussevitzky Double Bass Competition held at St. Petersburg in December of 2011. In June 2013, David was a finalist in the solo competition of the International Society of Bassists held in Rochester, New York.
Together with his brother and pianist/composer, Erik, they share the stage regularly. The mutual influences and interaction between these two different musical personalities is quite fascinating. Erik’s philosophical reflection and creativity, David’s tempestuous passion for the double bass and their open-mindedness towards all genres and styles of music turn these two brothers into a fascinating pair. This unique collaboration has resulted in the release of their first CD entitled ‘Reflections on a Song’ with the label PHAEDRA (2013). This CD contains Belgian chamber music for double bass and piano which has never been recorded before. Several new compositions and transcriptions have been written and recorded for this CD’s release. Several pieces of this CD have been broadcasted by Radio Klara (Belgium) and Radio 4 (The Netherlands). Moreover, as duo with his brother Erik, David has played live recitals for radio Klara, radio Devin (Slovakia) and Hravtski Radio (Croatia). In the summer of 2012 and 2013, David was invited to participate in the ‘Encuentro de Musica Y Academia de Santander’.
