Classical Mastery. Celtic Spirit.
Throughout his musical life, David Aks has inspired audiences and musicians as a conductor, cellist, and teacher. His career has taken him throughout the United States, Europe, and South America, conducting orchestras, opera, and musical theater, performing as a cellist, and mentoring generations of young artists.
Today, David's musical life embraces both the Classical and Celtic traditions. Whether on the concert stage, in the teaching studio, coaching a chamber ensemble, or participating in a Celtic session, he brings artistry, curiosity, humor, and a spirit of musical discovery to every endeavor.
For David, Classical and Celtic music are complementary traditions—each rooted in the shared experience of making music. His work reflects a lifelong belief that great music has the power to connect people, communities, and cultures.
Dedicated to the Art.
As a soloist, chamber musician, educator and teacher, David Aks has built a career defined by excellence, integrity and a deep love for classical music.
David Aks has built a distinguished international career as a conductor, cellist, and educator. He studied at Indiana University and earned a Bachelor of Music in Cello Performance and a Master of Music in Conducting from Oberlin College.
His conducting studies continued with some of the most influential musicians of the twentieth century, including Leonard Bernstein, Seiji Ozawa, Colin Davis, André Previn, and Gustav Meier at Tanglewood. Additional training included the Minnesota Opera Institute, the Conductors Guild Summer Institute, and studies with Italian conductor Franco Ferrara in Siena, Italy.
As a performer, conductor, and teacher, David has concertized and taught throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. His work has encompassed symphonic music, chamber music, opera, and musical theater.
Beyond his extensive credentials, David is known for his warmth, humor, and ability to connect with people. Whether working with professional musicians, university students, or community ensembles, he creates an atmosphere that is both challenging and encouraging. His teaching and coaching inspire musicians to reach higher levels of artistry while fostering confidence, curiosity, and a genuine love of music.
David Aks has built a distinguished international career as a conductor, cellist, and educator. He studied at Indiana University and earned a Bachelor of Music in Cello
David is also a gifted communicator whose popular pre-concert talks help audiences engage more deeply with the music they hear. With clarity, insight, and wit, he makes complex musical ideas accessible to listeners of all backgrounds, enriching the concert experience for seasoned concertgoers and newcomers alike.
In recent years, David has become an active participant in California's Celtic music community, performing at festivals and pub sessions, and exploring the creative intersection of Classical and Celtic traditions.
Music is the language
that connects souls across time.
Bringing Music to Life Through Connection and Drama
David Aks has enjoyed a distinguished conducting career encompassing symphonic, operatic, and musical theater repertoire at both professional and academic levels.
His appointments have included Music Director of the WXCR Chamber Orchestra in Florida and the Bloomingdale Chamber Orchestra in New York City. As a guest conductor, he has appeared with the American Youth Symphony, the Nashville Symphony, the Riverside Orchestra, the New Repertory Ensemble, and orchestras in Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali, Colombia.
Opera has been a central focus throughout his career. He served as Assistant Conductor to Seiji Ozawa for Tosca at Tanglewood and has since conducted numerous opera productions in university and professional settings. His experience in both the orchestral and operatic worlds has shaped a conducting style that values communication and drama.
Known for his clarity, humor, and ability to inspire musicians, David leads rehearsals that are both challenging and encouraging. His approach combines careful attention to the score with a conviction that music is ultimately about communicating the ideas, emotions, and humanity of great composers. He believes that the conductor's role is not merely to coordinate an ensemble, but to help musicians discover the expressive possibilities within the music and bring them to life together.
The Performance Career of David Aks
The cello has been at the center of David Aks's musical life from the beginning of his professional career. His principal teachers included Leopold Teraspolsky at Indiana University and Richard Kapuscinski at Oberlin College.
As a professional cellist, David has performed with leading orchestras and opera companies including the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the New York Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, the Filarmónica de Bogotá, the Minnesota Opera, and the Los Angeles Opera.
His summer festival appearances have included the New Hampshire Music Festival and the Eastern Music Festival. A dedicated chamber musician, David has performed extensively in chamber ensembles including the Bakken Ensemble in Minneapolis, Cuarto Colombiano in Bogotá, and the Seraphin Trio in New York City.
Celtic Cello
Since discovering Celtic music in 2014, David Aks has become an active participant in California's traditional music community.
He has studied with leading Celtic artists including cellists Natalie Haas and Mike Block, and fiddlers Alasdair Fraser, Hanneke Cassel, and Jeremy Kittel. His introduction to Celtic music began at the Valley of the Moon Scottish Fiddle School, followed by Mike Block String Camp. He has performed with the Scottish Fiddlers of Los Angeles and, most recently, with the Irish band The Praties.
Through these experiences, David has explored the cello's expanding role in traditional music, from playing melody and harmony to rhythmic accompaniment and improvisation.
A significant chapter in this musical adventure has been his collaboration with fiddler Joyce Pan since 2016. Together they formed the duo Joyce & David, whose debut recording, New Roads, features original compositions along with their own contemporary arrangements of Scottish, Irish, Swedish, and Québécois tunes. Joyce & David are a familiar presence at concerts, sessions, and Scottish Highland Games throughout California and Utah, bringing audiences an engaging blend of virtuosity, lyrical expression, and irresistible toe-tapping rhythms.
Music is more than performance.
It is conversation. It is discovery. It is connection.
The Art of Teaching
Teaching has been one of the defining passions of David Aks' career. Throughout decades of work with university students, young professionals, and established artists, he has been known for combining high standards with warmth, humor, and encouragement. Former students often remark that he made even the most demanding classes enjoyable, creating an atmosphere where students felt challenged to do their best.
His teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that musicians learn best when creativity, imagination, and technique work hand in hand.
David is Professor Emeritus at California State University, Northridge, where he served as Artistic Director of the CSUN Symphony and the CSUN Opera Theater. Throughout his academic career, he has mentored students in conducting, orchestral performance, opera, and chamber music.
Since joining the faculty of OperaWorks in 1987, David has developed innovative courses such as Audio-Visualization, Musical-Dramatic Analysis, and Expressive Conducting for Singers that help singer-actors integrate musical, dramatic, and performance skills.
Alumni have frequently remarked that his classes taught skills they continue to use throughout their professional careers. David has also served on the faculties of the College of St. Catherine and the University of South Florida, where he was both orchestra conductor and cellist in the Faculty String Quartet.
Whether working with aspiring professionals, experienced performers, or community musicians, David's goal has always been the same: to help each artist discover greater confidence, deeper understanding, and a lifelong connection to music.
Chamber Music Coaching
For David, chamber music is the highest form of musical collaboration. Combining his experience as a conductor, cellist, and teacher, chamber music coaching allows him to help ensembles develop both their technical skills and artistic vision.
Drawing upon decades of chamber music performance, David helps musicians move beyond their individual parts to discover the larger musical conversation within a score, by refining the ensemble skills that bring a performance to life.
Areas of focus include:
Ensemble communication and leadership
Balance, blend, and ensemble sound
Developing a shared artistic vision
Stylistic understanding and interpretation
Listening and responding to fellow musicians
Rhythmic precision and coordination
Musical phrasing and expressive intent
A highly sought-after chamber music coach, David has worked with ensembles at the Santa Barbara Chamber Music Festival, the ASTA Chamber Music Workshop, the Grand Pacific Chamber Music Festival, and other programs.
He also founded the String Quartet Workshops at California State University, Northridge, the University of South Florida, and the College of St. Catherine. His extensive experience as a chamber player enables him to offer practical insights from the performer's perspective, helping ensembles deepen their musical understanding and bring greater confidence, refinement, and expression to their performances.
Connecting Through Music
Whether through performance, education, coaching, or conversation, music creates opportunities for connection, discovery, and shared experiences.
Get in touch to discuss concerts, teaching, chamber music coaching, speaking engagements, or collaborative projects. I look forward to hearing from you.