David Valdes started studying music at the age of seven. His first interest was the piano, an instrument on which he gained a Bmus but, during his teens, percussion got into his way and , from then on, nothing would be the same again.
He commenced studying percussion at the Gijón Conservatory of Music, and gained his Bmus (2000) at the Oviedo Conservatory of Music with the highest possible marks: “Angel Muñiz Toca” Extraordinary Award and End of Degree Award. He also gained a Bmus in Solfege, Sight Reading and Transposition, completing his training with studies in Chamber Music, Harmony, Counterpoint and Fugue.
During the next two years (2000/2002), he attended the Madrid based “Centro de Estudios Neopercusión”, the most prestigious percussion teaching centre in Spain. His teachers were Juanjo Guillem (ONE), Enric Llopis (ORTVE), Francisco Diaz (OST), Juanjo Rubio (OCM), Oscar Benet (OCM), Belen Garcia and David Mayoral. In this centre, he got in touch with some of the foremost Spanish percussionists.
After that, he moved to London (2002/2004) in order to undertake studies at The Royal Academy of Music. His teachers were Andrew Barclay (LPO), Simon Carrington (LPO), Leigh Howard Stevens, Nicholas Cole (RPO), Dave Hassell, Paul Clarvis, Neil Percy (LSO) and Kurt Hans Goedicke (LSO). There he gained his Postgraduate Diploma in Performance (Timpani and Percussion) and his LRAM.
His interest in conducting moved him to undertake this subject as a second study with Denise Ham and choral conducting with Patrick Russill.
At the Royal Academy, David got in touch with many world-class percussionists of different specialities. Is for this reason that he has acquired the knowledge and skills required nowadays by the most demanding orchestras and ensembles. His main influences were Andrew Barclay, Simon Carrington and Leigh Howard Stevens; their technical and musical conceptions have specially influenced David: his way of playing owes very much to their inspiration.
He has also taken part in courses and master-classes given by many renowned musicians: Jeff Prentice, Rainer Seegers, Benoit Cambrelaing, David Searcy, Ben Hoffnung, Philippe Spiecer, Enmanuel Sejourné, Keiko Abe, Eric Sammut, She-e Wu, Joe Locke, Anthony Kerr, Dave Jackson, Makoto Aruga, Chris Lamb, Collin Curie, Evelyn Glennie, Mircea Anderleanu, Steven Shick, John Bergamo, Airto Moreira, Birger Sulsbruck, Peter Erskine, Dave Weckl, Billy Cobham, Carlos Carli, George Hurst and Arturo Tamayo among others. He has also attended Piano, Contemporary and Modal Harmony, Jazz, Conducting and Arranging courses.
He has won three times in a row the “Princedom of Asturias Government Scholarship”, which was conceded for studying in Madrid and London. He was finalist at the “International Keyboard Percussion Competition” sponsored by the “Yamaha Foundation of Europe”, and was runner-up for the “Deutsche Bank Pyramid Awards”, given to innovative performance and composition projects.
David has played with the following orchestras: Gijón Symphony Orchestra, Princedom of Asturias Symphony (Spain), Oviedo Filarmonia (Spain), Spanish National Orchestra (Spain), Princedom of Asturias Music Festival Orchestra (Spain), Catalonian Chamber Orchestra (Spain), "New Millennium" Symphony Orchestra (Spain), Moscow Virtuosi (Russia), Concerto Munchen Sinfonieorchester (Germany), WDR Rundfunk Orchester Köln (Germany), Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic (Poland), Orquestra do Norte (Portugal), Trinity College Orchestra (UK), London Symphony “Side by Side Scheme” (UK), apart from many youth and conservatories orchestras.
He has toured Portugal, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Hungary, the Czech Republic, China, The Vatican..., and has taken part in concerts broadcasted by different European radio and television stations: RTVE, TVE, TPA, BBC3, Magyar Televizio, CTS, CTV…
David has participated in several recordings, ranging from classical to jazz, opera, symphonic, sounds tracks, and as a soloist. He also has been a member of different chamber groups: RAM Percussion Group, Neopercusion, Kronos Prothos aand Northern Brass Ensemble.He has also worked as a session musician and as an arranger.
He has taught at different schools of music and at the Gijón and Oviedo Conservatories of music. He is now principal timpani/percussion for the Gijón Symphony Orchestra, also maintaining a busy free-lancing activity.
David would like to thank the following people:
- Adolfo Ramírez Iborra for making David discover percussion, the magic of orchestral playing, and for being an inspiration for a whole generation of young musicians.
- Rafael Casanova Ortiz for being his first percussion teacher.
- Juanjo Guillem for opening David´s eyes to a new world of technical and musical possibilities.
- Andrew Barclay, Simon Carrington and Leigh Stevens for adding the "quality touch".
- To my father, who prematurely passed away, and to whom I owe my life and the 50% of what I´m today (the other 50% is owed to my mother).