Music Director and Conductor

David Bowden celebrates his eleventh season this year as Music Director and Conductor of the Terre Haute Symphony Orchestra.   David enjoys performing a wide variety of repertoire – from opera to symphonic standards to pops and country music.  He especially enjoys educational concerts for schools, hoping to inspire children to choose to learn to play an instrument, believing that making music changes lives.

Born in North Carolina, David has loved music since he was a very young child.  At the age of four, he began studying the piano with his mother.  Beginning in elementary school, he was accepted as a student in piano at Duke University. In addition to the piano, he has played clarinet, oboe, organ, and viola. 

Bowden earned a doctorate in orchestral conducting and a master’s degree in choral conducting from the Indiana University School of Music. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music.

A frequent speaker at Conductors Guild and national and international conferences as well as at leadership organizations, service clubs, and school events, David is recognized as an advocate for the arts, music education, and innovative programming.  He has served for ten years as Director of the New Music Project of the Conductors Guild and was recently elected to the Board of the Conductors Guild.

Other awards and distinctions include election to the 2006-2008 editions of Who’s Who in America, winner of five ASCAP awards for creative programming, serving as an ASCAP Standard Awards Panel Judge, and lifetime membership in the Pi Kappa Lambda National Honor Society.

Guest conducting opportunities have taken him to Europe and to many cities across the United States.

Bowden is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, the Columbus Philharmonic Chorus, and the Carmel Symphony Orchestra. He recently completed twenty years as Worship and Music Director at his local church.

A native of North Carolina, David loves both the mountains and the ocean.  He is an avid reader and basketball fan, and enjoys running and traveling.  David and his wife, Donna, recently celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary.  They have two grown daughters.

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