Biography

“David is a highly talented composer with a deep knowledge of many forms, and a passion for collaboration and exploration.”

— Rebecca Novick, Former Artistic Director of Crowded Fire Theater Company

Composer and pianist David Rhodes was born and raised in Northern California. His music has been described as mesmerizing, mystical, ethereal, and “accessible without bending to pop conventions”. David was involved in several theatrical collaborations as the resident composer for San Francisco’s Crowded Fire Theater Company where he composed for stage productions by playwrights such as Liz Duffy Adams, Erik Ehn, Christine Evans, and Naomi Wallace.  David also composes music for solo instruments, chamber ensembles, electronics, and full orchestra, drawing inspiration from the expanses of the natural world, the relationship between humans and nature, and the complexity of the human experience.

David attended the University of Oregon where he studied piano with Victor Steinhardt and composition with David Crumb and Rob Kyr. He received his BFA and MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, studying piano with Vicki Ray and composition with Michael Fink, Ulrich Krieger, and Wolfgang von Schweinitz. 

David’s work in theater has led to successful premieres in San Francisco and further workshops in New York. His “couch-potato blitzkrieg” – a piece for two cellos and twenty for televisions, spurred on by the success of his collaboration with Liz Duffy Adams – introduced theater audiences to an experimental collision between contemporary music and theater. As a pianist, David loves to perform works by Messiaen, Ligeti, Crumb, Scelsi, Debussy, and more. 

In 2012, David opened Rhodes School of Music, which has become a thriving community resource. With locations in La Cañada Flintridge and Los Angeles, over 60 teachers serve over 700 students. The school offers private instruction on almost every instrument and encourages musicians young and old to develop a love and appreciation of making and performing music.

David lives in the San Bernardino mountains outside of Los Angeles.

“David’s work is both gorgeous and rigorous, challenging and pleasure-giving. And he is the most natural collaborator — the most respectful, inspirational, creative and endlessly resourceful — that I’ve ever worked with.”

— Liz Duffy Adams, Playwright