David studied with Rodney Friend at the Royal College of Music in London, graduating in 1985.

After freelancing in the UK, David returned to New Zealand for family reasons and became a member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 1987.

Some of his highlights since joining the NZSO include performing Strauss, Bruckner, and Wagner with Franz-Paul Decker, Shostakovich with Rostropovich, playing at the Musikverein in Vienna during the 2010 European tour, and, most recently, the Orchestra's return to the concert stage after the COVID-related lockdowns:

Maybe significant is a better word here than favourite, but the memory I have in mind is the first rehearsal after the early 2020 national lockdown and the sense of relief at playing with colleagues again. 

David stepped down as Sub-Principal Second Violin to pursue studies for a PhD, which he completed in 2022 with his thesis entitled 'Violins, Venues and Vortexes: Interrogating Pre-reflective Relationality in Orchestral Work.'

The work focuses on the organisation of orchestral music-making through the work on the preconscious perception of the French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1908–1961). It represents the culmination of a research journey undertaken because of David’s ongoing fascination with 'how orchestras do what they do.'

In his free time, David tries to master the distinction between caramelisation and burning in the kitchen before alienating too many of his friends. He is married to Pascale Parenteau, NZSO's Senior Manager for Education and Community Engagement, and their two delightful children, Dominique and Anne-Sophie, ensure that life at chez Gilling is never dull.