David Daniel Bowes
Violist, Violinist, Pianist
Guild-Certified Feldenkrais® Practitioner
David is currently using his considerable experience as a performing artist and teacher to mentor and support other teachers and students. He has a passion for the teachings of Kato Havas, OBE (1920-2018) and the Feldenkrais Method®. David’s teaching emphasizes making daily activities easier, more enjoyable, and more pleasurable.
“When I met Kato Havas and studied with her in London, little did I know how life-changing that initial Twelve Lesson Course would be. It was the beginning of a 40-year association with Miss Havas that enriched my relationship with myself and how I physically organized my use of the instrument and bow.“
“I was asked by a young teacher on the East Coast: ‘How do you set up a beginner?’ This simple question sparked my imagination. Embodying both the Havas New Approach and the Feldenkrais Method® has given me unique tools to support my students.”
“The Awareness Through Movement® lessons that I teach – and attend on a weekly basis – help me to experience my body in rich and varied ways. For me, it is about understanding the quality of attention I bring to: the lesson, to my individual practicing, or to a coaching session.“
Qualifications
David has a career that encompasses everything from an ongoing private studio to playing background music for movies and accompanying such performers as Joel Grey, Liza Minelli, and Smokey Robinson.
David has a generous background in the orchestral and opera literature, having performed with such noted groups as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, The American Bach Soloists, The San Francisco Symphony and Opera Orchestras, the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra, Midsummer Mozart, and abroad with Les Arts Florissants, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and Il Complesso Barocco.
As a teacher at San Francisco’s Aptos Middle School and a coach at the Golden Gate Philharmonic Youth Orchestra of the Ruth Azawa School of the Arts, David has guided many students in learning to play with ease and enjoyment.
David is currently working on a book of memoirs shared by the students of Kato Havas.
Recognition
It was during David’s tenure as a violist with San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, that this esteemed ensemble earned two Grammy nominations (1989 and 2010).
Les Arts Florissants, the renowned Parisian ensemble, received a Grand Prix du Disque for the 1987 recording of Jean-Baptiste Lully’s opera, “Atys”. David participated in the original production, tours, and recording of this remarkable work.
David was a Fellowship Violist at the Aspen Music Festival in the summers of 1974, 1975, 1976, and 1979, studying with Lillian Fuchs and Karen Tuttle.
Prior to completing his studies at the Manhattan School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, David was awarded a five-year full scholarship to study both violin and piano at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.