Of Eurasian heritage (his mother was born in Beijing), David Macbride was born in Berkeley, CA in 1951. His principal teachers include Edward Diemente (of the Hartt College of Music), and Jack Beeson and Chou wen-chung (of Columbia University). He has written numerous works, ranging from solo, chamber and orchestral music to music for film, TV, dance and theatre, with particular emphasis on music for percussion and music for voice. His works have been performed extensively in the United States and abroad: recent performances include the Hartford Symphony, the Arditti String Quartet, League ISCM, Percussive Arts Society International Convention, World Saxophone Congress, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Upcoming performances include the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center premiere of A Muse, written for the Avalon String Quartet and commissioned by Concert Artists Guild. The Royal Spanish Chamber Orchestra performed Poet in New York on its tour of Spain during the Garcia Lorca Centennial in 1998-99.

Tim Page of Newsday writes: "In David Macbride's music, one finds technical skills of a high order, a direct lyricism that informs the most complex passages, and a personal aesthetic that combines Western chromaticism with a fascination for the music of China." Awards include the Georges Enesco International Composition Prize, two Leo Snyder Memorial Composition Prizes sponsored by League ISCM Boston, the Composers Inc. Prize and two Connecticut Commission on the Arts individual artists grants.

Other commissions include Chamber Music America, Performers of Connecticut, and the Connecticut Valley Chamber Orchestra. Macbride's compositions are recorded on Concora, Hartt/Next Exit, Opus One, Owl/Starkland, and True Media Recordings. A solo CD of his works is available from Composers Recordings Inc. (CRI). Alex Ross of the New York Times writes: "...Macbride achieves a remarkable balance of technical rigor and free spirited invention... Composers Recordings has done justice to a distinctive voice in American music." Two other solo CDs entitled Conundrum: The Percussion Music of David Macbride featuring Benjamin Toth and In Common: Duets by David Macbride have been recently released by Innova Recordings. A CD of Macbride's Lorca settings is available on Albany Records, which has also released a CD of his solo piano works entitled In Passing, as performed by the composer.

Macbride has been extremely active in bringing diverse musics to the Greater Hartford Community, having produced numerous outdoor events in Elizabeth Park and other venues over the past fifteen years. He regularly performs in schools and senior citizen homes, and recently received the University of Hartford Community Service Award in recognition of his contributions.

As a pianist, Macbride was invited to give a recital tour of Peru by the Instituto Cultural Peruano NorteAmericano in February 1999, and performances in Spain last year sponsored by the Centro de la Difusion de la Musica Contemporanea, as well as a recital at the Universidad Nacional Autonomo de Mexico in Mexico City. Macbride is Professor of Composition and Theory at The Hartt School, University of Hartford.