Music Director and Conductor
Dr. David Bowden

Born and raised in North Carolina, David has loved music since he was a very young child. At the age of 4, he began studying the piano with his mother. Beginning in elementary school, he was accepted as a student in piano at Duke University. In addition to the piano, he has played clarinet, oboe, organ and viola.

Founding Music Director and Conductor of the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic and the Philharmonic Chorus, David has provided artistic vision and leadership throughout the years as the Philharmonic has continued to grow, change and thrive.  

During this time, he and the Philharmonic have been broadcast nationwide many times on National Public Radio's “Performance Today” and on Public Radio International's “Pipedreams.” They have recorded Marcel Dupré's Complete Music for Organ and Orchestra, which was released on the international classical label, Naxos Records.

Of this release, Fanfare stated, "[The recording is] absolutely superb . . . plenty of fire and zeal." The American Record Guide praised the "excellent performance under Bowden's gifted leadership." BBC Magazine said that it is "delightful, authoritative, well worth hearing." And Organ concluded simply, "brilliant, first class."

Dr. Charles Webb, in reviewing the Philharmonic's Verdi Requiem performance in the Columbus Republic, stated, "The entire piece was skillfully conducted by David Bowden, who welded his singers into a supple singing unit that negotiated the difficult operatic vocal lines with finesse. He brought cohesiveness, excellent tempos, and passion to one of music's most inspired works."

David enjoys performing a wide variety of repertoire – from opera to symphonic standards to pops and country music. He especially enjoys educational concerts for schools, hoping to inspire children to choose to learn to play an instrument, believing that making music changes lives.

Bowden earned a doctorate in orchestral conducting and a master’s degree in choral conducting from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music.

A popular speaker at Conductors Guild and other national and international conferences as well as at leadership organizations, service clubs, and school events, David is recognized as an advocate for the arts, music education, and innovative programming. For the last ten years he has served as Director of the New Music Project of the Conductors Guild.

Other awards and distinctions include inclusion in Who’s Who in America, election to the Conductors Guild Board, receiving The Patriot Award, winning five ASCAP awards for creative programming, serving on the ASCAP Composer Standard Awards Panel, and lifetime membership in the Pi Kappa Lambda National Honor Society.

In addition to the Philharmonic, David is also the Music Director and Conductor of the Carmel and Terre Haute Symphony Orchestras. He has also worked in church music ministry for most of his life.