David Winkler earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts degree (composition) from Columbia University in New York City. Previous studies took place at the Conservatorio Cherubini in Florence, Italy and University of California at Los Angeles where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree. He has served on the faculties of Columbia University and the Lincoln Center Institute. Over the past several years he has received commissions and premières from a variety of orchestras and ensembles in Europe, South America and Asia. These include a composer fellowship grant by the New York Foundation for the Arts to support the creation of a variety of new symphonic works; a commission grant by the New York State Council on the Arts to create new choral works. Recent commissions also include those from the Orquesta Sinfónica UNCuyo, Mendoza, Argentina; National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia; Alabama Symphony (Birmingham, AL); The Korean Broadcasting System; Chamber Orchestra Kremlin; Queen’s Chamber Band; Houston Grand Opera; and Kharkov Philharmonic (Ukraine). Previous commissions also include those from The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Aspen Music Festival. He has received a Leonard Bernstein Composer Fellowship, a Fromm Foundation Commission, the BMI Young Composer Award and a special ASCAP award for the last eight consecutive years. He is a member of ASCAP. Winkler has been composer in residence with the Aspen Music Festival, the Banff Centre, Opera/Omaha (1996 and 1997), the Chautauqua Opera and the Lincoln Center Institute. He has composed over 200 works including three symphonies, six operatic works, two violin concertos, a piano concerto, various chamber concerti for harpsichord, flute and violin respectively, many song cycles, choral works, three string quartets, and numerous chamber music works.