David Gilbert is acclaimed for his dynamic performances with orchestras throughout the United States, the Far East and Europe. Born to a family of musicians, he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the Eastman School of Music, and won first prize in the 1970 Dimitri Mitropoulos International Conducting Competition. Assistant conductor of the New York Philharmonic from 1970 to 1979, he was principal conductor of the American Ballet Theatre from 1971 to 1975.

From 1980 to 1982, at China’s invitation, David Gilbert served as principal guest conductor of the Beijing Central Philharmonic. The first American musician to hold a position of prominence in China, Mr. Gilbert was instrumental in rebuilding that nation’s major symphonic orchestra.

David Gilbert is the resident conductor and a faculty member of the Manhattan School of Music where he has conducted both symphony and opera, including several important New York premieres. CDs of Ned Rorem’s “Miss Julie,” Benjamin Britten’s “Albert Herring,” William Mayer’s “A Death in the Family,” and Scott Eyerly’s “The House of the Seven Gables” (world premiere performance) with the MSM Opera Department, David Gilbert conducting, have been released.

His compositions for chamber ensemble, orchestra, and opera include his “Concerto for Trombone, Brass and Orchestra,” “Ballade Concertante for Tuba and Orchestra,” and “Phoenix Madrigal” for flute and strings

Mr. Gilbert is music director of the Greenwich Symphony(CT) and the Senior Concert Orchestra of New York. He resides in Nutley, New Jersey, with his wife and three children.