
DAVID GARGARO
Composer & Conductor
"David has natural musical gifts."
Harold Farberman, Founder The Conductors Institute, Bard College
"David has a great talent for conducting."
Brad Lubman, Co-Artistic and Music Director of Ensemble Signal
"Conscientious, focused, and motivated."
Apo Hsu, Music Director of the National Taiwan Normal University Symphony Orchestra
About Me
A lifelong Embrace of Metamorphosis in the
Pursuit of Art, Truth, & Equality.

As the esteemed winner of the 2016 Ansbacher Prize for Conducting, Scottish conductor David Gargaro was honored with an invitation by the Vienna Philharmonic to take up residence at the Salzburg Music Festival. David has previously held distinguished artistic positions such as Principal Guest Conductor of the New Fine Arts Ensemble in South Korea, Assistant Conductor of Opera Philadelphia, and Orchestra Manager of the New York Youth Symphony. Among his many accolades, David was a finalist for the American Conducting Prize and a semifinalist in the prestigious League of American Orchestras Bruno Walter Conductor Preview. In 2016, David was invited to conduct the BBC Symphony, London Mozart Players, and the Hilliard Ensemble.
David's conducting experience is extensive, having led orchestras such as the Virginia Symphony, New World Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra and Chorus, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, Portland Symphony, Winston-Salem Symphony, Cincinnati Philharmonia, Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, New York Youth Symphony, UCLA Philharmonia, New York Women in Music Festival Orchestra, Cincinnati Concert Orchestra, Oistrach Symphony Orchestra, Bard Conservatory Orchestra, and Eastman Philharmonia.
David has had the privilege of collaborating with renowned conductors including Sir Neville Mariner, Sir Roger Norrington, Michael Tilson Thomas, Helmuth Rilling, JoAnn Falletta, Gustav Meier, Kenneth Kiesler, Leon Botstein, Cliff Colnot, Jorge Mester, Kirk Trevor, David Effron, David Loebel, Mark Gibson, Markand Thakar, Apo Hsu, Jeffrey Meyer, and Donald Schleicher. Most recently, he was invited to participate in a series of masterclasses with Sir Neville Marriner at the Aurora Classic Festival and Bernard Haitink at the Lucerne Festival.
Born in Germany, David began his musical journey at St. Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he studied trumpet under Marcus Pope and piano with John Cameron. In 2005, he earned a scholarship to study trumpet at the Eastman School of Music under James Thompson and orchestral conducting with Brad Lubman. David holds a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from Bard Conservatory of Music, where he studied under the esteemed Harold Farberman. He has been the recipient of several prestigious scholarships, including the Howard Hanson Scholarship, Dewar Arts Awards Grant, Bagby Foundation Grant, Hope Scott Trust Grant, and the Bard Conducting Scholarship.
David's performances as a trumpeter span over one hundred ensembles, including the Meadows Chamber Orchestra, Edinburgh Symphony Baroque Orchestra, Brighton Symphony Orchestra, Edinburgh Grand Opera Company, Ossia, Musica Nova, Riverdale Choral Society, Lansdowne Symphony, National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Eastman Wind Ensemble, Opera, & Philharmonia, National Youth Brass Band of Scotland, and the Lowland Band of the Scottish Division. He has participated in masterclasses with trumpet luminaries such as Niklas Eklund, Mark Gould, Patrick Addinall, John Gracie, Robert Early, John Kenny, Todd J. Hastings, Angela Whelan, Marc O'Keefe, and James Chamberlain.
David's live radio broadcasts include performances on WXXI in the Live from Hochstein Concert Series. He has made special appearances performing the American National Anthem at the Edinburgh celebrations marking the 229th anniversary of American Independence, at the invitation of American Ambassador Cecile Shea, and has been twice invited to perform for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Holyrood Palace. In 2005, David was awarded first place in the prestigious Scottish Concerto Competition.
David also holds a master’s degree in Global Political Campaign Management from The George Washington University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California College of the Law San Francisco (formerly UC Hastings). He has authored award-winning publications on nuclear energy policy and conducted in-depth research on global climate solutions, gaining international recognition and speaking engagements with European Parliamentary officials and major universities. David is currently co-authoring UNLIKELY ALLIES The Musical based on the best-selling book by Joel Richard Paul.

Get in Touch
Reach out to David to discuss collaborations, performances, and musical projects.
MIRA
280 Spear street, #1001
San Francisco, CA 94105
Tel: (347) 413-4533